THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 
ROBERT  HUTCHINS 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/essentialsincondOOgehriala 


ESSENTIALS 


IN 


CONDUCTING 


BY 


KARL  WILSON  GEHRKENS,  A.  M. 

PROFESSOR  OF  SCHOOL  MUSIC 
OBERLIN  CONSERVATORY  OF  MUSIC 

ADTHOR   OF    "MUSIC    NOTATION    AND   TERMINOLOOT" 


BOSTON 

OLIVER  DITSON   COMPANY 

NEW   YORK  CHICAGO 

CHAS.   H.  DITSON  &  CO.  LYON  &  HEALY 

LONDON 
WINTHROP  ROGERS,  Ltd. 


Copyright  MCMXIX 
By  Oliver  Ditson  Cohpant 

International  Copyright  Secured 


I  College 

/  Library 


To  the  Memory  of 

ROBERT   C.   BEDFORD 

for  many  years 

Secretary  op  the  Board  of  Trustees 

of 

TUSKEGEE   INSTITUTE 


1326577 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Chapter         I — Introduction 1 

Chapter       II — Personal  Traits  necessary  in  Conduct- 
ing   8 

/    Chapter     III — The  Technique  of  the  Baton 20 

Chapter      IV — Interpretation   in    Conducting — Intro- 
ductory   36 

Chapter        V — Interpretation  in  Conducting — Tempo  46 
Chapter      VI — Interpretation  in   Conducting — Dyna- 
mics    57 

Chapter    VII — Interpretation  in  Conducting— Timbre, 

Phrasing,  etc 64 

Chaiter  VIII — The  Supervisor  of  Music  as  Conductor .  76 

CHAin-ER      IX — The  Community  Chorus  Conductor.  .  85 

Chapter       X — The  Orchestral  Conductor 93 

Chapter      XI — Directing  the  Church  Choir 108 

Chapter    XII — The  Boy  Choir  and  its  Problems 118 

Chapter  XIII — The  Conductor  as  Voice  Trainer 131 

Chapter  XIV — The  Art  of  Program  Making 140 

Chapter    XV — Conductor  and  Accompanist 147 

Chapter  XVI — Efficiency  in  the  Rehearsal 152 

Appendix      A — Reference  List 164 

Appendix      B — Score  of  second  movement  of  Haydn's 

Symphony,  No.  3 166 

Index 181 


PREFACE 

In  putting  out  this  little  book,  the  author  is  well 
aware  of  the  fact  that  many  musicians  feel  that  con- 
ductors, like  poets  and  teachers,  are  '"born  and  not 
made";  but  his  experience  in  training  supervisors  of 
music  has  led  him  to  feel  that,  although  only  the  ele- 
mentary phases  of  conducting  can  be  taught,  such  in- 
struction is  nevertheless  quite  worth  while,  and  is  often 
surprisingly  effective  in  its  results.  He  has  also  come 
to  believe  that  even  the  musical  genius  may  profit  by 
the  experience  of  others  and  may  thus  be  enabled  to  do 
effective  work  as  a  conductor  more  quickly  than  if  he 
relied  wholly  upon  his  native  ability. 

The  book  is  of  course  planned  especially  with  the 
amateur  in  view,  and  the  author,  in  writing  it,  has  had 
in  mind  his  own  fruitless  search  for  information  upon 
the  subject  of  conducting  when  he  was  just  beginning 
his  career  as  a  teacher;  and  he  has  tried  to  say  to  the 
amateur  of  today  those  things  that  he  himself  so  sorely 
needed  to  know  at  that  time,  and  had  to  find  out  by 
blundering  experience. 

It  should  perhaps  be  stated  that  although  the  writer 
has  himself  had  considerable  experience  in  conducting, 
the  material  here  presented  is  rather  the  result  of  observ- 
ing and  analyzing  the  work  of  others  than  an  account 
of  his  own  methods.  In  preparation  for  his  task,  the 
author  has  observed  many  of  the  better-known  conduc- 
tors in  this  country,  both  in  rehearsal  and  in  public 
performance,  during  a  period  of  some  twelve  years,  and 
the  book  represents  an  attempt  to  put  into  simple 
language  and  practical  form  the  ideas  gathered  from 


ii  PREFACE 

this  observation.  It  is  hoped  that  as  a  result  of  read- 
ing these  pages  the  amateur  may  not  only  have  become 
more  fully  informed  concerning  those  practical  phases 
of  conducting  about  which  he  has  probably  been  seek- 
ing light,  but  may  be  inspired  to  further  reading  and 
additional  music  study  in  preparation  for  the  larger  as- 
pects of  the  work. 

The  writer  wishes  to  acknowledge  the  material  assist- 
ance rendered  him  by  Professor  John  Ross  Frampton, 
of  the  Iowa  State  Teachers  College,  and  Professor  Os- 
boume  McConathy,  of  Northwestern  University,  both 
of  whom  have  read  the  book  in  manuscript  and  have 
given  invaluable  suggestions.  He  wishes  also  to  ac- 
knowledge his  very  large  debt  to  Professor  George 
Dickinson,  of  Vassar  College,  who  has  read  the  material 
both  in  manuscript  and  in  proof,  and  to  whose  pointed 
comments  and  criticisms  many  improvements  both  in 
material  and  in  arrangement  are  due. 

K.  W.  G. 
Oberlin,  Ohio 

June,  1918 


Essentials  in  Conducting 


CHAPTER  I 

Introduction 

DEFINITION  The  word  "conducting"  as  used  in  a  musi- 
cal sense  now  ordinarily  refers  to  the 
activities  of  an  orchestra  or  chorus  leader  who  stands 
before  a  group  of  performers  and  gives  his  entire  time 
and  effort  to  directing  their  playing  or  singing,  to  the 
end  that  a  musically  effective  ensemble  performance 
may  result. 

This  is  accomplished  by  means  of  certain  conven- 
tional movements  of  a  slender  stick  called  a  baton 
(usually  held  in  the  right  hand),  as  well  as  through  such 
changes  of  facial  expression,  bodily  posture,  et  cetera^ 
as  will  convey  to  the  singers  or  players  the  conductor's 
wishes  concerning  the  rendition  of  the  music. 

Conducting  in  this  sense  involves  the  responsibility 
of  having  the  music  performed  at  the  correct  tempoj 
with  appropriate  dynamic  effects,  with  precise  attacks 
and  releases,  and  in  a  fitting  spirit.  This  in  turn  im- 
plies that  many  details  have  been  worked  out  in  re- 
hearsal, these  including  such  items  as  making  certain 
that  all  performers  sing  or  play  the  correct  tones  in 
the  correct  rhythm;  insisting  upon  accurate  pronuncia- 
tion and  skilful  enunciation  of  the  words  in  vocal  music; 
indicating  logical  and  musical  phrasing;  correcting  mis- 
takes in  breathing  or  bowing;  and,  in  general,  stimulat- 
ing orchestra  or  chorus  to  produce  a  tasteful  rendition 


2  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

of  the  music  as  well  as  an  absolutely  perfect  ensemble 
with  all  parts  in  correct  proportion  and  perfect  balance. 
In  order  to  have  his  directing  at  the  public  perform- 
ance function  properly,  it  thus  becomes  the  conductor's 
task  to  plan  and  to  administer  the  rehearsals  in  such  a 
way  that  the  performers  may  become  thoroughly  familiar 
with  the  music,  both  in  technique  and  in  spirit.  In 
other  words,  the  conductor  must  play  the  part  of  musical 
manager  as  well  as  that  of  artistic  inspirer,  and  if  he 
does  not  perform  his  task  in  such  fashion  as  to  be  looked 
up  to  by  the  members  of  his  chorus  or  orchestra  as  the 
real  leader,  and  if  he  himself  does  not  feel  confident  of 
being  able  to  do  his  work  better  than  any  one  else  upon 
the  ground,  he  cannot  possibly  be  successful  in  any 
very  high  degree.  A  conductor  must  first  of  all  be  a 
strong  leader,  and  failing  in  this,  no  amount  of  musical 
ability  or  anything  else  will  enable  him  to  conduct  well. 
We  shall  have  more  to  say  upon  this  point  in  a  later 
chapter. 

SUMMARY  OF  THE  Conducting  of  one  kind  or  another 
HISTORY  OF  jjg^g  undoubtedly  been  practised  for 

CONDUCTING  *      •  u    *     j-       *.-  u 

many    centuries,    but    directmg    by 

gestures  of  the  hand  has  not  been  traced  farther  back 
than  the  fourteenth  century,  at  which  time  Heinrich 
von  Meissen,  a  Minnesinger,  is  represented  in  an  old 
manuscript  directing  a  group  of  musicians  with  stick 
in  hand.  In  the  fifteenth  century  the  leader  of  the  Sis- 
tine  Choir  at  Rome  directed  the  singers  with  a  roll  of 
paper  (called  a  "sol-fa"),  held  in  his  hand.  By  the 
latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  it  had  become 
customary  for  the  conductor  to  sit  at  the  harpsichord 
or  organ,  filling  in  the  harmonies  from  a  "figured  bass," 
and  giving  any  needed  signals  with  one  hand  or  the 
head  as  best  he  could.  Conducting  during  this  period 
signified  merely  keeping  the  performers  together;  that 
is,  the  chief  function  of  the  conductor   was  that  of 


INTRODUCTION  3 

"time  beater."  With  the  advent  of  the  conductor  in 
the  role  of  interpreter,  such  directing  became  obsolete, 
and  from  the  early  nineteenth  century,  and  particularly 
as  the  result  of  the  impetus  given  the  art  by  the  con- 
ducting of  Mendelssohn,  Berlioz,  Liszt,  and  Wagner, 
the  conductor  has  become  an  exceedingly  important 
functionary,  in  these  modern  days  even  ranking  with  the 
prima  donna  in  operatic  performances!  It  is  now  the 
conductor's  aim  not  merely  to  see  that  a  composition  is 
played  correctly  and  with  good  ensemble;  more  than 
that,  the  leader  of  today  gives  his  own  version  or  read- 
ing of  the  composition  just  as  the  pianist  or  violinist  does. 
Instead  of  being  a  mere  "time  beater"  he  has  become  an 
interpreter,  and  (except  in  the  case  of  the  organist- 
director  of  a  choir)  he  attempts  to  do  nothing  except  so 
to  manipulate  his  musical  forces  as  to  secure  an  effec- 
tive performance. 

THE  PSYCHOLOGICAL  The  conductor  works  largely 
BASIS  OF  through  the  instrumentality  of  in- 

CONDUCTING  4-     4-         '     u  4'  *u   *     •        u- 

snnchve    imitation;     that    is,    his 

methods  are  founded  upon  the  fact  that  human  beings 
have  an  innate  tendency  to  copy  the  actions  of  others, 
often  without  being  conscious  that  they  are  doing  so. 
Thus,  if  one  person  yawns  or  coughs,  a  second  person 
observing  him  has  an  instinctive  tendency  to  do  like- 
wise. One  member  of  a  group  is  radiant  with  happiness, 
and  very  soon  the  others  catch  the  infection  and  are 
smihng  also;  a  singer  at  a  public  performance  strains 
to  get  a  high  tone,  and  instinctively  our  faces  pucker  up 
and  our  throat  muscles  become  tense,  in  sympathetic 
but  entirely  unconscious  imitation.  In  very  much  the 
same  way  in  conducting,  the  leader  sets  the  tempo, — 
and  is  imitated  by  the  musicians  under  him;  he  feels  a 
certain  emotional  thrill  in  response  to  the  composer's 
message, — and  arouses  a  similar  thrill  in  the  performers ; 
lifts  his  shoulders  as  though  taking  breath, — and  causes 


4  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

•the  singers  to  phrase  properly,  often  without  either  the 
conductor  or  the  singers  being  aware  of  how  the  direction 
was  conveyed.  It  is  at  least  partly  because  we  instinc- 
tively imitate  the  mental  state  or  the  emotional  attitude 
of  the  pianist  or  the  vocalist  that  we  are  capable  of  being 
thrilled  or  calmed  by  musical  performances,  and  it  is 
largely  for  this  reason  that  an  audience  always  insists 
upon  seeing  the  artist  as  well  as  hearing  him.  In  the 
same  way  the  musicians  in  a  chorus  or  orchestra  must 
see  the  conductor  ^nd  catch  from  him  by  instinctive 
imitation  his  attitude  toward  the  music  being  performed. 
This  point  will  be  more  fully  discussed  in  a  later  chapter, 
when  we  take  up  interpretation  in  conducting. 

CONDUCTING  In  setting  out  to  become  a  conductor 

A  COMBINATION  OF  ^^  ^^  ^e  Well  for  the  young  musician 
SCIENCE  AND  ART  ^^  recognize  at  the  outset  that  by 
far  the  larger  part  of  the  conductor's  work  rests  upon 
an  art  basis,  and  that  only  a  comparatively  small  por- 
tion of  it  is  science;  hence  he  must  not  expect  to  find 
complete  information  concerning  his  future  work  in  any 
treatise  upon  the  subject.  It  is  one  thing  to  state  that 
there  are  three  primary  colors,  or  that  orange  is  the  re- 
sult of  mixing  red  and  yellow,  but  it  is  a  very  different 
matter  to  give  directions  for  painting  an  effective  land- 
scape, or  a  true-to-life  portrait.  One  thing  involves 
science  only,  but  the  other  is  concerned  primarily  with 
art,  and  it  is  always  dangerous  to  dogmatize  concerning 
matters  artistic.  To  carry  the  illustration  one  step 
farther,  we  may  say  that  it  is  comparatively  easy  to 
teach  a  pupil  to  strike  certain  piano  keys  in  such  a  way 
as  to  produce  the  correct  melody,  harmony,  and  rhythm 
of  a  certain  composition;  but  who  would  venture,  even 
in  these  days  of  frenzied  advertising,  to  promise  that  in 
so  many  lessons  he  could  teach  a  pupil  to  play  it  as  a 
Hof mann  or  a  Paderewski  would  ?  Here  again  we  see 
clearly  the  contrast  between  science  and  art,  matters  of 


INTRODUCTION  5 

science  being  always  susceptible  of  organization  into  a 
body  of  principles  and  laws  which  will  work  in  every  case, 
while  art  is  intangible,  subtle,  and  ever-varying. 

The  application  of  our  illustration  to  conducting  should 
now  be  clear.  We  may  teach  a  beginner  how  to  wield 
a  baton  according  to  conventional  practice,  how  to  se- 
cure firm  attacks  and  prompt  releases,  and  possibly  a 
few  other  definitely  established  facts  about  conducting; 
but  unless  our  would-be  leader  has  musical  feeling  within 
him  and  musicianship  back  of  him,  it  will  *be  utterly 
futile  for  him  to  peruse  these  pages  further,  or  to  make 
any  other  kind  of  an  attempt  to  learn  to  conduct ;  for,  as 
stated  above,  only  a  very  small  part  of  conducting  can 
be  codified  into  rules,  directions,  and  formulae,  by  far  the 
larger  part  of  our  task  being  based  upon  each  indi- 
vidual's own  innate  musical  feeling,  and  upon  the  general 
musical  training  that  he  has  undergone.  All  this  may 
be  discouraging,  but  on  the  other  hand,  granting  a  fair 
degree  of  native  musical  abihty,  coupled  with  a  large 
amount  of  solid  music  study,  any  one  possessing  a  sense 
of  leadership  can,  after  a  reasonable  amount  of  intelli- 
gent practice,  leam  to  handle  a  chorus  or  even  an 
orchestra  in  a  fairly  satisfactory  manner.  It  is  our 
purpose  in  general  to  treat  the  scientific  rather  than  the 
artistic  side  of  conducting,  and  we  are  taking  for  granted, 
therefore,  that  the  reader  is  endowed  with  musical  feel- 
ing at  least  in  a  fair  degree,  and  has  acquired  the  rudi- 
ments of  musical  scholarship  as  the  result  of  an  extensive 
study  of  piano,  organ,  singing,  ear-training,  music 
history,  harmony,  et  cetera,  and  especially  by  attentive 
listening  to  a  very  large  amount  of  good  music  with  score 
in  hand .  Asa  result  of  combining  such  musical  ability  with 
a  careful  reading  of  these  pages  and  with  a  large  amount 
of  practice  in  actually  wielding  the  baton,  it  is  hoped 
that  the  beginner  will  arrive  at  his  goal  somewhat  earlier 
than  he  would  if  he  depended  entirely  upon  what  the  psy- 
chologist calls  the  "trial-and-error"  method  of  learning. 


6  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

IMPORTANCE  The  musical  amateur  who  is  ambitious  to 
OF  MUSICAL  conduct  should  therefore  study  music  in 
SCHOLARSHIP        n   ..        ,  j    •*   •      j      u+        *     u- 

all  its  phases,  and  if  in  doubt  as  to  his 

talent,  he  should  submit  to  a  vocational  test  in  order 
to  determine  whether  his  native  musical  endowment  is 
sufficient  to  make  it  worth  his  while  to  study  the  art 
seriously.  If  the  result  of  the  test  is  encouraging,  show- 
ing a  good  ear,  a  strong  rhythmic  reaction,  and  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  what  might  be  termed  native  musical 
taste,  let  him  practise  his  piano  energetically  and  intel- 
ligently, and  especially  let  him  learn  to  read  three  and 
four  voices  on  separate  staffs  (as  in  a  vocal  score)  in 
order  to  prepare  himself  for  future  reading  of  full  scores. 
Let  him  study  harmony,  counterpoint,  form,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, composition  and  orchestration.  Let  him  work  in- 
defatigably  at  ear-training,  and  particularly  at  har- 
monic ear  training,  so  that  notes  and  tones  may  become 
closely  associated  in  his  mind,  the  printed  page  then 
giving  him  auditory  rather  than  merely  visual  imagery; 
in  other  words,  let  him  school  himself  to  make  the 
printed  page  convey  to  his  mind  the  actual  sounds  of  the 
music.  Let  him  study  the  history  of  music,  not  only 
as  a  record  of  the  work  of  individual  composers,  but  as 
an  account  of  what  has  transpired  in  the  various  periods 
or  epochs  of  musical  art,  so  that  he  may  become  intelli- 
gent concerning  the  ideals,  the  styles,  and  the  forms  of 
these  various  periods.  And  finally,  let  him  hear  all  the 
good  music  he  possibly  can,  listening  to  it  from  the 
threefold  standpoint  of  sense,  emotion,  and  intellect,  and 
noting  particularly  those  matters  connected  with  expres- 
sion and  interpretation  in  these  renditions.  In  as  many 
cases  as  possible  let  him  study  the  scores  of  the  com- 
positions beforehand,  comparing  then  his  own  ideas  of 
interpretation  with  those  of  the  performer  or  conductor, 
and  formulating  reasons  for  any  differences  of  opinion 
that  may  become  manifest. 

Let  the  young  musician  also  form  the  habit  of  reading 


INTRODUCTION  7 

widely,  not  only  along  all  musical  lines  (history,  biogra- 
phy, theory,  esthetics,  et  cetera),  but  upon  a  wide  variety 
of  topics,  such  as  painting  and  the  other  arts,  history, 
Uterature,  sociology,  pedagogy,  et  cetera.  As  the  result  of 
such  study  and  such  reading,  a  type  of  musical  scholar- 
ship will  be  attained  which  will  give  the  conductor  an 
authority  in  his  interpretations  and  criticisms  that  can- 
not possibly  be  achieved  in  any  other  way.  Let  us 
hasten  to  admit  at  once  that  the  acquiring  of  this  sort 
of  scholarship  will  take  a  long  time,  and  that  it  cannot 
all  be  done  before  beginning  to  conduct.  But  in  the 
course  of  several  years  of  broad  and  intelligent  study  a 
beginning  at  least  can  be  made,  and  later  on,  as  the 
result  of  continuous  growth  while  at  work,  a  fine,  solid, 
comprehensive  scholarship  may  finally  eventuate. 


CHAPTER  II 

Personal  Traits  Necessary  in  Conducting 

IMPORTANCE  OF  In  the  introductory  chapter  it  was  noted 
PERSONALITY  ^^^^  j-j^^  conductor  must  build  upon  a 
foundation  of  musical  scholarship  if  he 
is  to  be  really  successful;  that  he  must  possess  musical 
feeling;  and  that  he  must  go  through  extensive  musical 
training,  if  he  is  to  conduct  with  taste  and  authority. 
But  in  addition  to  these  purely  musical  requirements, 
experience  and  observation  have  demonstrated  that  the 
would-be  conductor  must  be  possessed  of  certain  defi- 
nitely established  personal  characteristics,  and  that 
many  a  musician  who  has  been  amply  able  to  pass  muster 
from  a  musical  standpoint,  has  failed  as  a  conductor 
because  he  lacked  these  other  traits. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  give  at  this  point  an  exhaus- 
tive list  of  qualities  that  must  form  the  personal  equip- 
ment of  the  conductor.  In  general  it  will  be  suflBcient  to 
state  that  he  must  possess  in  a  fair  degree  those  personal 
traits  that  are  advantageous  in  any  profession.  But 
of  these  desirable  qualities  three  or  four  seem  to  be  so 
indispensable  that  it  has  been  thbught  best  to  devote  a 
brief  chapter  to  a  discussion  of  them.  These  qualities  are : 

1.  A  sense  of  humor. 

2.  A  creative  imagiuation. 

3.  A  sense  of  leadership  combined  with  organizing  ability. 

A  SENSE  The  first  of  these  traits,  a  sense  of  humor, 
OF  HUMOR  jjjj^y  perhaps  upon  first  thought  seem  a  pecul- 
iar quality  to  include  in  a  category  of  virtues 
for  the  professional  man  of  any  type,  and  especially  for 
the  musician.     But  upon  reflection  it  will  be  admitted 


PERSONAL  TRAITS  9 

that  the  abiHty  to  see  things  in  a  humorous  Hght  (which 
very  frequently  means  merely  seeing  them  in  true  per- 
spective) has  helped  many  a  man  to  avoid  wasting  ner- 
vous energy  upon  insignificant  occurrences,  while  the 
lack  of  this  ability  has  caused  more  trouble  among  all 
sorts  of  people  (and  particularly,  it  seems  to  me,  among 
musicians)  than  any  other  single  thing. 

ILLUSTRATIONS         Some  player  or  singer  is  either  over- 

OF  HUMOR  IN  arduous  or  a  bit  sleepy  during  the  first 

THE    REHEARSAL         .  j.      ,  .        ^'^  w 

stages  of  rehearsmg  a  new  composition, 

and  makes  a  wrong  entrance,  perhaps  during  a  pause 

just  before  the  climacteric  point.     The  occurrence  is 

really  funny  and  the  other  performers  are  inclined  to 

smile  or  snicker,  but  our  serious  conductor  quells  the 

outbreak  with  a  scowl.     The  humorous  leader,  on  the 

other  hand,  sees  the  occurrence  as  the  performers  do, 

joins  in  the  laugh  that  is  raised  at  the  expense  of  the 

offender,  and  the  rehearsal  goes  on  with  renewed  spirit. 

An  instrumental  performer  makes  a  bad  tone,  and  the 
conductor  laughs  at  him,  saying  it  sounds  like  a  wolf 
howling  or  an  ass  braying.  If  the  remark  is  accom- 
panied by  a  smile,  the  performer  straightens  up  and 
tries  to  overcome  the  fault;  but  if  the  comment  is  made 
with  a  snarl  there  is  a  tightening  up  of  muscles,  an  in- 
creased tension  of  the  nerves,  and  the  performer  is  more 
than  likely  to  do  worse  the  next  time. 

There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  between  the  con- 
ductor and  some  performer  about  fingering  or  bowing, 
phrasing  or  interpretation,  and  a  quarrel  seems  immi- 
nent; but  the  conductor  refuses  to  take  the  matter  too 
seriously,  and,  having  ample  authority  for  his  own  view- 
point, proceeds  as  he  has  begun,  later  on  talking  it  over 
with  the  performer,  and  perhaps  giving  him  a  reason  for 
his  opinion. 

Humor  is  thus  seen  to  have  the  same  effect  upon  a 
body  of  musicians   as  oil   applied   to  machinery,   and 


10  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

musical  machinery  seems  to  need  more  of  this  kind  of 
lubrication  than  almost  any  other  variety. 

But  the  conductor  must  distinguish  carefully  between 
sarcastic  wit,  which  laughs  at,  and  humor,  which*  laughs 
toith.  In  a  book  bearing  the  copyright  date  of  1849, 
the  writer  distinguishes  between  the  two,  in  the  follow- 
ing words:* 

Humor  originally  meant  moisture,  a  signification  it  metaphorically  retains, 
for  it  is  the  very  juice  of  the  mind,  enriching  and  fertilizing  where  it  falls. 
Wit  laughs  at;  humor  laughs  with.  Wit  lashes  external  appearances,  or  cun- 
ningly exchanges  single  foibles  into  character;  humor  glides  into  the  heart  of 
its  object,  looks  lovingly  upon  the  infirmities  it  attacks,  and  represents  the 
whole  man.  Wit  is  abrupt,  scornful  .  .  .  ;  humor  is  slow  and  shy,  insinuat- 
ing its  fun  into  your  heart. 


THE  VALUE  OF  The  conductor  with  a  sense  of  humor 
A  CHEERFUL  y^\\  ordinarily  have  the  advantage 
also  of  being  cheerful  in  his  attitude 
toward  the  performers,  and  this  is  an  asset  of  no  mean 
significance.  It  is  a  well-known  psychophysical  fact 
that  the  human  body  does  much  better  work  when  the 
mind  is  free  from  care,  and  that  in  any  profession  or 
vocation,  other  things  being  equal,  the  worker  who  is 
cheerful  and  optimistic  will  perform  his  labor  much 
more  efficiently  at  the  expense  of  considerably  less 
mental  and  bodily  energy  than  he  who  is  ill-humored, 
worried,  fretful,  and  unable  to  take  a  joke.  But  the 
foreman  who  possesses  this  quality  of  cheerfulness  and 
humor  is  doubly  fortunate,  for  he  not  only  secures  the 
beneficial  results  in  his  own  case,  but  by  his  attitude 
frequently  arouses  the  same  desirable  state  of  mind 
and  body  in  those  who  are  working  under  him.  It  is 
particularly  because  of  this  latter  fact  that  the  con- 
ductor needs  to  cultivate  a  cheerful,  even  a  humorous 
outlook,  especially  in  the  rehearsal.  As  the  result  of 
forming  this  habit,  he  will  be  enabled  to  give  directions 

*  Whipple,  LUeraiure  and  Life,  p.  91 


PERSONAL  TRAITS  11 

in  such  a  way  that  they  will  be  obeyed  cheerfully  (and 
consequently  more  effectively);  he  will  find  it  possible 
to  rehearse  longer  with  less  fatigue  both  to  himself  and 
to  his  n^usical  forces;  and  he  will  be  able  to  digest  his 
food  and  to  sleep  soundly  after  the  rehearsal  because  he 
is  not  worrying  over  trivial  annoyances  that,  after  all, 
should  have  been  dismissed  with  a  laugh  as  soon  as  they 
appeared.  There  must  not  of  course  be  so  much  levity 
that  the  effectiveness  of  the  rehearsal  will  be  endangered, 
but  there  is  not  much  likelihood  that  this  will  happen; 
whereas  there  seems  to  be  considerable  danger  that 
our  rehearsals  will  become  too  cold  and  formal.  A 
writer  on  the  psychology  of  laughter  states  that  "laugh- 
ter is  man's  best  friend";*  and  in  another  place  (p.  342) 
says  that  the  smile  always  brings  to  the  mind  "relaxation 
from   strain." 

THE  VALUE  OF       Creative    imagination    is    an    inborn 

IMAGINATION  quality— "a  gift  of  the  gods"— and  if 

IN  CONDUCTING      IV     •    :j-    •  ,      i   ,  .  •. 

the  individual  does  not  possess  it,  very 

little  can  be  done  for  him  in  the  artistic  realm.  Con- 
structive or  creative  imagination  implies  the  ability  to 
combine  known  elements  in  new  ways — to  use  the  mind 
forwards,  as  it  were.  The  possession  of  this  trait  makes 
it  possible  to  picture  to  oneself  how  things  are  going  to 
look  or  sound  or  feel  before  any  actual  sense  experience 
has  taken  place;  to  see  into  people's  minds  and  often 
find  out  in  advance  how  they  are  going  to  react  to  a 
projected  situation;  to  combine  chemical  elements  in 
new  ways  and  thus  create  new  substances;  to  plan 
details  of  organization  in  a  manufacturing  establishment 
or  in  an  educational  institution,  and  to  be  able  to  fore- 
cast how  these  things  are  going  to  work  out. 

It  is  this  quality  of  creative  imagination  that  enables 
the  inventor  to  project  his  mind  into  the  future  and 
see  a  continent  spanned  by  railways   and   telephones, 

*  Sully,  An  Essay  on  Laughter. 


12  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

and  the  barrier  of  an  ocean  broken  clown  by  means  of 
wireless  and  aeroplane;  and  in  every  case  the  inventor 
works  with  old  and  well-known  materials,  being  merely 
enabled  by  the  power  of  his  creative  faculties  (as  they 
are  erroneously  called)  to  combine  these  known  ma- 
terials in  new  ways. 

In  the  case  of  the  musician,  such  creative  imagination 
has  always  been  recognized  as  a  sine  qua  non  of  original 
composition,  but  its  necessity  has  not  always  been  so 
clearly  felt  in  the  case  of  the  performer.  Upon  analyzing 
the  situation  it  becomes  evident,  however,  that  the  per- 
former cannot  possibly  get  from  the  composer  his  real 
message  unless  he  can  follow  him  in  his  imagination, 
and  thus  re-create  the  work.  As  for  adding  anything 
original  to  what  the  composer  has  given,  this  is  plainly 
out  of  the  question  unless  the  interpreter  is  endowed 
somewhat  extensively  with  creative  imagination;  and 
the  possession  of  this  quality  will  enable  him  to  intro- 
duce such  subtle  variations  from  a  cut-and-dried, 
merely  accurate  rendition  as  will  make  his  perform- 
ance seem  really  spontaneous,  and  will  inevitably 
arouse  a  more  enthusiastic  emotional  response  in  the 
listeners. 

Weingartner  sums  up  the  value  of  imagination  in  the 
final  paragraph  of  one  of  the  few  really  valuable  books 
on  conducting  at  our  disposal.* 

More  and  more  I  have  come  to  think  that  what  decides  the  worth  of  con- 
ducting is  the  degree  of  suggestive  power  that  the  conductor  can  exercise  over 
the  performers.  At  the  rehearsals  he  is  mostly  nothing  more  than  a  workman, 
who  schools  the  men  under  him  so  conscientiously  and  precisely  that  each  of 
them  knows  his  place  and  what  he  has  to  do  there;  he  first  becomes  an  artist 
when  the  moment  comes  for  the  production  of  the  work.  Not  even  the  most 
assiduous  rehearsing,  so  necessary  a  prerequisite  as  this  is,  can  so  stimulate 
the  capacities  of  the  players  as  the  force  of  imagination  of  the  conductor. 
It  is  not  the  transference  of  his  personal  will,  but  the  mysterious  act  of  creation 
that  called  the  work  itself  into  being  takes  place  again  in  him,  and  transcend- 
ing the  narrow  limits  of  reproduction,  he  becomes  a  new-creator,  a  self-creator. 

*  Weingartner,  On  Conducing,  translated  by  Ernest  Newman,  p.  56. 


PERSONAL  TRAITS  13 

This  quality  is  indispensable  to  all  musicians,  be  they 
creators  or  performers,  but  is  especially  desirable  in  the 
conductor,  for  he  needs  it  not  only  from  the  standpoint 
of  interpretation,  as  already  noted,  but  from  that  of 
manager  or  organizer.  Upon  this  latter  point  we  shall 
have  m^ore  to  say  later,  but  it  may  be  well  to  state  just 
here  that  if  the  conductor  could  imagine  what  was  going 
on  in  the  miinds  of  his  players  or  singers,  and  could  see 
things  from  their  viewpoint;  if  he  could  forecast  the 
effect  of  his  explanatory  directions  or  of  his  disciplinary 
rulings,  nine-tenths  of  all  the  quarreling,  bickering,  and 
general  dissatisfaction  that  so  frequently  mar  the  work 
of  any  musical  organization  could  easily  be  eliminated. 
We  might  also  add  that  if  the  conductor  could  only 
foresee  the  effect  upon  his  audiences  of  certain  works,  or 
of  certain  interpretations,  his  plans  would  probably 
often  be  materially  altered. 

ORGANIZING  ABILITY      But  the  conductor  must  be  more 
AND  A  SENSE  than    a     humorous-minded   and 

OF  LEADERSHIP  •  ...  •   •  tt  4. 

imagmative  musician.  He  must 
also  (especially  in  these  modern  times)  be  an  organizer,  a 
business  man,  a  leader.  The  qualities  of  leadership  and 
organizing  ability  are  so  closely  connected  that  we 
shall  for  the  most  part  treat  them  together  in  our  dis- 
cussion, and  they  are  so  important  that  a  fairly  exten- 
sive analysis  will  be  attempted. 

In  an  article  on  Schumann  in  Grove's  Dictionary 
Dr.  Philip  Spitta,  the  well-known  historian  and 
critic,  comments  upon  the  conducting  of  this  famous 
composer  as  follows:* 

Schumann  was  sadly  wanting  in  the  real  talent  for  conducting.  All  who 
ever  saw  him  conduct  or  played  under  his  direction  are  agreed  on  this  point. 
Irrespective  of  the  fact  that  conducting  for  any  length  of  time  tired  him  out, 
he  had  neither  the  collectedness  and  prompt  presence  of  mind,  nor  the  sym- 
pathetic faculty,  nor  the  enterprising  dash,  without  each  of  which  conducting 

*  Grove's  Dielionary  of  Music  and  Musician*,  New  EklitioD,  Vol.  IV,  p.  363. 


14  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

in  the  true  sense  is  impossible.  He  even  found  diflBculty  in  starting  at  a  given 
tempo;  nay,  he  even  sometimes  shrank  from  giving  any  initial  beat,  so  that 
some  energetic  pioneer  would  begin  without  waiting  for  the  signal,  and  without 
incurring  Schumann's  wrath!  Besides  this,  any  thorough  practice,  bit  by  bit, 
with  his  orchestra,  with  instructive  remarks  by  the  way  as  to  the  mode  of 
execution,  was  impossible  to  this  great  artist,  who  in  this  respect  was  a  striking 
contrast  to  Mendelssohn.  He  would  have  a  piece  played  through,  and  if  it 
did  not  answer  to  his  wishes,  have  it  repeated.  If  it  went  no  better  the  second 
or  perhaps  third  time,  he  would  be  extremely  angry  at  what  he  considered 
the  clumsiness,  or  even  the  ill-will  of  the  players;  but  detailed  remarks  he 
never  made. 

This  estimate  of  Schumann's  work  as  a  conductor 
demonstrates  unmistakably  that  he  failed  in  this  par- 
ticular field,  not  because  his  musical  scholarship  was 
not  adequate,  but  because  he  did  not  have  that  peculiar 
ability  which  enables  one  man  to  dominate  others; 
viz.y  a  sense  of  leadership,  or  personal  magnetism^  as  it  is 
often  called.  Seidl  asserts*  that  Berhoz,  Massenet,  and 
Saint-Saens  likewise  failed  as  conductors,  in  spite  of 
recognized  musicianship;  and  it  is  of  course  well  known 
that  even  Beethoven  and  Brahms  could  not  conduct 
their  own  works  as  well  as  some  of  their  contemporaries 
whose  names  are  now  almost  forgotten. 

The  feeling  that  one  has  the  power  to  cause  others  to 
do  one's  will  seems  in  most  cases  to  be  inborn,  at  least 
certain  children  display  it  at  a  very  early  age;  and  it  is 
usually  the  boys  and  girls  who  decide  on  the  playground 
what  games  shall  be  played  next,  or  what  mischief  shall 
now  be  entered  upon,  who  later  on  become  leaders  in 
their  several  fields  of  activity.  And  yet  this  sense  of 
leadership,  or  something  closely  approximating  it,  may 
also  be  acquired,  at  least  to  a  certain  extent,  by  almost 
any  one  who  makes  a  consistent  and  intelligent  attempt 
in  this  direction.  It  is  this  latter  fact  which  may  en- 
courage those  of  us  who  are  not  naturally  as  gifted  along 
these  lines  as  we  should  like  to  be,  and  it  is  because  of 
this  possibility  of  acquiring  what  in  conducting  amounts 

•  Seidl,  The  Music  of  Ihe  Modern  World,  Vol.  I,  p.  106. 


PERSONAL  TRAITS  15 

to  an  indispensable  qualification  that  an  attempt  is 
here  made  to  analyze  the  thing  called  leadership  into  its 
elements. 

THE  FIRST       The  primary  basis  upon  which  a  sense  of 

ELEMENT  IN  leadership  rests  is  undoubtedly  confidence 
LEADERSHIP      •  »  ,     ,  .,..  j  •  »    i  i 

m  one  s  general  abiuty  and  in  one  s  knowl- 
edge of  the  particular  subject  being  handled.  The 
leader  must  not  only  know  but  must  know  that  he 
knows.  This  makes  quick  judgments  possible,  and  the 
leader  and  organizer  must  always  be  capable  of  making 
such  judgments,  and  of  doing  it  with  finahty.  The 
baseball  player  must  decide  instantly  whether  to  throw 
the  ball  to  "first,"  "second,"  "third,"  or  "home,"  and 
he  must  repeatedly  make  such  decisions  correctly  before 
he  can  become  a  strong  and  respected  baseball  captain. 
The  same  thing  holds  true  of  the  foreman  in  a  factory, 
and  both  baseball  captain  and  factory  foreman  must  not 
only  know  every  detail  of  the  work  done  under  them, 
but  must  know  that  they  know  it,  and  must  feel  confident 
of  being  able  to  cause  those  working  under  them  to 
carry  it  on  as  they  conceive  it.  So  the  conductor  must 
not  only  know  music,  but  must  have  confidence  in  his 
ear,  in  his  rhythmic  precision,  in  his  taste,  in  his  judg- 
ment of  tempo,  in  short,  in  his  musical  scholarship; 
and  he  must  not  only  feel  that  he  knows  exactly  what 
should  be  done  in  any  given  situation,  but  be  confident 
that  he  can  make  his  chorus  or  orchestra  do  it  as  he 
wishes.  Think  for  instance  of  securing  a  firm  attack  on 
the  first  tone  of  such  a  song  as  the  Marseillaise.  It  is 
an  extremely  difficult  thing  to  do,  and  it  would  be  utterly 
impossible  to  direct  any  one  else  exactly  how  to  accom- 
plish it;  and  yet,  if  the  conductor  knows  exactly  how 
it  must  sound,  if  he  has  an  auditory  image  of  it  before 
the  actual  tones  begin,  and  if  he  feels  that  when  he  begins 
to  beat  time  the  chorus  will  sing  as  he  has  heard  them 
in  imagination,  then  the  expected  result  is  almost  cer- 


16  ^  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

tain  to  follow.  But  if  he  is  uncertain  or  hesitant  upon 
any  of  these  points,  he  will  as  surely  fail  to  get  a  good 
attack. 

Such  confidence  in  one's  own  ability  as  we  have  been 
describing  usually  results  in  the  acquiring  of  what  is 
called  an  easy  manner, — self-possession, — in  short,  poise, 
and  it  is  the  possession  of  such  a  bearing  that  gives  us 
confidence  in  the  scholarship  and  ability  of  the  leaders 
in  any  type  of  activity.  But  the  influence  of  this  type 
of  manner  cannot  be  permanent  unless  it  rests  upon  a 
foundation  of  really  solid  knowledge  or  ability. 

THE  SECOND  The  second  element  included  in  leadership 
ELEMENT  IN  g^jj^j  organizing  ability  is  the  power  to 
make  oneself  understood,  that  is,  clear- 
ness of  speech  and  of  expression.  This  involves  prob- 
ably first  of  all,  so  far  as  conducting  is  concerned,  a 
voice  that  can  be  easily  heard,  even  in  a  fairly  large 
room,  and  that  carries  with  it  the  tone  of  authority. 
But  it  includes  also  a  good  command  of  language  so  that 
one's  ideas  may  be  expressed  clearly,  and  one's  commands 
given  definitely.  An  important  point  to  be  noted  in 
this  connection  is  that  the  conductor  must  be  able  to 
exercise  rigid  self-control,  so  as  not  to  become  inco- 
herent under  stress  of  anger,  emergencies,  or  other 
excitement. 


THE  THIRD  The  final  element  involved  in  leadership  is 
ELEMENT  IN  ^  tremendous  love  of  and  respect  for  the 
LEADERSHIP  ^j^.^^  ^j^^^  j^  ^^^^^  ^^^^  Napoleon  be- 
came a  great  general  because  of  his  confidence  in  his 
own  ability,  and  because  of  his  very  great  enthusiasm 
for  his  work.  Lincoln  became  one  of  the  greatest  states- 
men of  all  times  largely  because  of  his  earnestness,  his 
extraordinary  love  and  respect  for  the  common  jjeople, 
and  his  unfaltering  confidence  in  the  justice  of  the  cause 
for  which  the  North  was  contending.     Pestalozzi  could 


PERSONAL  TRAITS  17 

never  have  become  one  of  the  world's  most  influential 
teachers  if  he  had  not  felt  that  the  thing  he  was  trying 
to  do  was  a  big  thing,  a  vital  thing  in  the  life  of  his 
country,  and  if  he  had  not  had  a  real  love  in  his  heart 
for  his  work  among  the  ragged  and  untrained  urchins 
whom  he  gathered  about  him. 

And  for  the  same  reason  it  is  clear  that  no  one  can 
become  a  strong  and  forceful  conductor  who  does  not 
have  an  overwhelming  love  of  music  in  his  heart.  We 
may  go  farther  and  say  that  no  conductor  can  give  a 
really  spirited  reading  of  a  musical  composition  if  he 
does  not  feel  genuinely  enthusiastic  over  the  work  being 
performed,  and  that  one  reason  for  the  sluggish  response 
that  musicians  often  make  to  the  conductor's  baton  is 
the  mediocrity  of  the  music  which  they  are  being  asked 
to  perform.  The  conductor  is  not  in  sympathy  with  it 
(sometimes  without  realizing  this  himself),  and  there 
is  consequently  no  virility  in  the  playing  or  singing. 
The  remedy  for  this  state  of  affairs  consists,  first,  in 
allowing  only  those  who  have  some  taste  in  the  selection 
of  music  to  conduct;  and  second,  in  inspiring  all  con- 
ductors to  take  much  more  time  and  much  greater  pains 
in  deciding  upon  the  works  to  be  rehearsed.  In  direct- 
ing a  choir  one  may  examine  a  dozen  cantatas,  or 
twenty-five  anthems,  before  one  is  found  that  is  really 
distinctive.  If  one  stops  at  the  second  or  third,  and 
thinks  that  although  not  very  good  yet  it  is  possibly  good 
enough,  very  probably  the  choir  will  be  found  to  be 
sluggish  and  unresponsive,  filled  with  what  Coward  calls 
"inertia."*  But  if  one  goes  on  looking  over  more  and 
more  selections  until  something  really  distinctive  is  dis- 
covered, it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  chorus  will 
respond  with  energy  and  enthusiasm. 

We  have  heard  many  arguments  in  favor  of  teaching 
children  only  the  best  music,  and  here  is  yet  another, 
perhaps  more  potent  than  all  the  rest.     They  must  be 

*  Coward,  Choral  Technique  and  InUrprelalion,  p.  73. 


18  ESSENTIALS  IN   CONDUCTING 

taught  only  good  music  because  you  as  a  musician  will 
find  it  impossible  to  become  enthusiastic  over  mediocre 
or  poor  works;  and  if  you  do  not  yourself  glow  over  the 
music  that  you  are  directing,  you  will  hardly  succeed  in 
arousing  the  children's  interest,  for  enthusiasm  spreads 
by  contagion,  and  there  can  be  no  spreading  by  contact 
unless  we  have  a  point  from  which  to  start. 

A  sense  of  leadership  consists,  then,  of  a  combination 
of  self-confidence  and  poise,  clearness  of  speech  and  ex- 
pression, and  enthusiasm  for  one's  work;  and  if  with 
these  three  there  is  mingled  the  ability  to  think  clearly 
and  definitely,  we  have  a  combination  that  is  bound  to 
produce  distinctive  results,  no  matter  what  the  field  of 
activity  may  be.  Let  us  repeat  that  the  encouraging 
thing  about  the  whole  matter  is  the  fact  that  most  of 
the  things  involved  in  leadership  can  be  acquired,  at 
least  to  a  certain  degree,  if  persistent  efforts  are  made 
for  a  long  enough  time. 

Before  going  on  with  the  topic  to  be  treated  in  the 
next  chapter,  let  us  summarize  the  materials  out  of 
which  our  conductor  is  to  be  fashioned.     They  are: 

1.  Innate  musical  ability. 

2.  A  long  period  of  broad  and  intelligent  music  study. 

3.  An  attractive  and  engaging  personality. 

4.  A  sense  of  humor. 

5.  A  creative  imagination. 

6.  Conscious  leadership  and  organizing  ability. 

Some  of  these  qualities  are  admittedly  almost  dia- 
metrically opposed  to  one  another,  and  it  is  probably 
because  so  few  individuals  combine  such  apparently 
opposite  traits  that  such  a  small  number  of  musicians 
succeed  as  conductors,  and  so  few  organizers  and  busi- 
ness men  succeed  as  musicians.  But  in  spite  of  this 
diflBculty,  we  must  insist  again  that  any  really  tangible 
and  permanent  success  in  conducting  involves  a  com- 
bination of  these  attributes,  and  that  the  conductor  of 
the  future,  even  more  than  of  the  past,  must  possess 


PERSONAL  TRAITS  19 

not  only  those  qualities  of  the  artist  needed  by  the  solo 
performer,  but  must  in  addition  be  a  good  business 
manager,  an  organizer,  a  tactician,  a  diplomat,  a  task- 
master— in  plain  English,  a  good  boss.  It  is  primarily 
because  of  the  lack  of  these  last-mentioned  qualities 
that  most  musicians  fail  as  conductors.  A  writer  in  the 
Canadian  Journal  of  Music,  signing  himself  Varasdin, 
sums  it  up  well  in  the  following  words: 

He  who  wishes  to  "carry  away"  his  body  of  players  as  well  as  his  audience, 
the  former  to  a  unanimously  acted  improvisation,  the  latter  to  a  unanimously 
felt  emotion,  needs  above  all  "  conmianding  personal  magnetism,"  and  every- 
thing else  must  be  subordinate  to  that. 

He  must  be  "very  much  alive" — (highly  accumulated  vital  energy,  always 
ready  to  discharge,  is  the  secret  of  all  personal  magnetism) — and  the  alertness, 
the  presence  of  mind,  the  acute  and  immediate  perception  of  everything  going 
on  during  rehearsal  or  performance,  the  dominancy  and  impressiveness  of  his 
minutest  gesture,  the  absolute  self-possession  and  repose  even  in  working  up 
the  most  exciting  climaxes  and  in  effecting  the  most  sudden  contrasts — all  these 
are  simply  self-evident  corollaries  from  our  first  and  foremost  requirement. 


CHAPTER  III 

The  Technique  of  the  Baton 

THE  BATON     Before   giving    actual    directions    for    the 
ITSELF  manipulation  of  the  conductor's  baton,  it 

may  be  well  to  state  that  the  stick  itself 
should  be  light  in  weight,  light  in  color,  and  from  six- 
teen to  twenty  inches  long.  It  must  be  thin  and  flexible, 
and  should  taper  gradually  from  the  end  held  in  the 
hand  to  the  point.  Batons  of  this  kind  can  be  manu- 
factured easily  at  any  ordinary  planing  mill  where  there 
is  a  lathe.  The  kinds  sold  at  stores  are  usually  al- 
together too  thick  and  too  heavy.  If  at  any  time  some 
adulating  chorus  or  choir  should  present  the  conductor 
with  an  ebony  baton  with  silver  mountings,  he  must 
not  feel  that  courtesy  demands  that  it  should  be  used  in 
conducting.  The  proper  thing  to  do  with  such  an  in- 
strument is  to  tie  a  ribbon  around  one  end  and  hang  it 
on  the  wall  as  a  decoration. 

THE  CONDUCTOR'S     A  word  about  the  music  desk  may 

MUSIC  STAND  ^jg^   ^^   j^   ^^.^^j.   ^t   ^j^jg   ^j^j^       ^ 

should  be  made  of  wood  or  heavy 
metal  so  that  in  conducting  one  need  not  constantly  feel 
that  it  is  likely  to  be  knocked  over.  The  ordinary  fold- 
ing music  stand  made  of  light  metal  is  altogether  un- 
suitable for  a  conductor's  use.  A  good  substantial  stand 
with  a  metal  base  and  standard  and  wood  top  can  be 
purchased  for  from  three  to  five  dollars  from  any  dealer 
in  musical  instruments.  If  no  money  is  available  and 
the  stand  is  constructed  at  home,  it  may  be  well  to  note 
that  the  base  should  be  heavy,  the  upright  about  three 


TECHNIQUE  OF  THE  BATON  21 

and  a  half  feet  high,  and  the  top  or  desk  about  fourteen 
by  twenty  inches.  This  top  should  tilt  only  slightly,  so 
that  the  conductor  may  glance  from  it  to  his  performers 
without  too  much  change  of  focus.  Our  reason  for 
mentioning  apparently  trivial  matters  of  this  kind  is  to 
guard  against  any  possible  distraction  of  the  conductor's 
mind  by  unimportant  things.  If  these  details  are  well 
provided  for  in  advance,  he  will  be  able  while  conduct- 
ing to  give  his  entire  attention  to  the  real  work  in 
hand. 

HOLDING  The  baton  is  ordinarily  held  between 

AND  WIELDING     the  thumb  and  first,  second  and  third 

THE  BATON  n  u    4.  *u  j      *      ' 

ringers,  but  the  conductor  s  grasp  upon 

it  varies  with  the  emotional  quality  of  the  music.  Thus 
in  a  dainty  'pianissimo  passage,  it  is  often  held  very 
lightly  between  the  thumb  and  the  first  two  fingers, 
while  in  a  fortissimo  one  it  is  grasped  tightly  in  the 
closed  fist,  the  tension  of  the  muscles  being  symbolic  of 
the  excitement  expressed  in  the  music  at  that  point.  All 
muscles  must  be  relaxed  unless  a  contraction  occurs 
because  of  the  conductor's  response  to  emotional  ten- 
sion in  the  music.  The  wrist  should  be  loose  and 
flexible,  and  the  entire  beat  so  full  of  grace  that  the 
attention  of  the  audience  is  never  for  an  instant  dis- 
tracted from  listening  to  the  music  by  the  conspicuous 
awkwardness  of  the  conductor's  hand  movements. 
This  grace  in  baton-manipulation  need  not  interfere  in 
any  way  with  the  definiteness  or  precision  of  the  beat. 
In  fact  an  easy,  graceful  beat  usually  results  in  a  firmer 
rhythmic  response  than  a  jerky,  awkward  one.  For  the 
first  beat  of  the  measure  the  entire  arm  (upper  as  well 
as  lower)  moves  vigorously  downward,  but  for  the  re- 
maining beats  the  movement  is  mostly  confined  to  the 
elbow  and  wrist.  In  the  case  of  a  divided  beat  (see 
pages  23  and  24)  the  movement  comes  almost  entirely 
from  the  wrist. 


22  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

POSITION  OF  The  hand  manipulating  the  baton  must  al- 
THE  BATON  ^ays  be  held  sufficiently  high  so  as  to  be 
easily  seen  by  all  performers,  the  elbow  being 
kept  well  away  from  the  body,  almost  level  with  the 
shoulder.  The  elevation  of  the  baton,  of  course,  de- 
pends upon  the  size  of  the  group  being  conducted,  upon 
the  manner  in  which  the  performers  are  arranged,  and 
upon  whether  they  are  sitting  or  standing.  The  con- 
ductor will  accordingly  vary  its  position  according  to  the 
exigencies  of  the  occasion,  always  remembering  that  a 
beat  that  cannot  be  easily  seen  will  not  be  readily 
followed. 

PRINCIPLES  AND     If  one  observes  the  work  of  a  num- 
METHODS  OF  j^^j.  ^f  conductors,   it  soon  becomes 

evident  that,  although  at  first  they 
appear  to  have  absolutely  different  methods,  there  are 
nevertheless  certain  fundamental  underlying  principles 
in  accordance  with  which  each  beats  time,  and  it  is 
these  general  principles  that  we  are  to  deal  with  in  the 
remainder  of  this  chapter.  It  should  be  noted  that 
principles  rather  than  methods  are  to  be  discussed,  since 
principles  are  universal,  while  methods  are  individual 
and  usually  only  local  in  their  application. 

DIAGRAMS  OF  The  general  direction  of  the  baton 

BATON  MOVEMENTS     movements  now  in  universal  use  is 
shown  in  the  following  figures. 


In  actual  practice  however,  the  baton  moves  from 
point  to  point  in  a  very  much  more  complex  fashion,  and 
in  order  to  aid  the  leamei'  still  further  in  his  analysis 


TECHNIQUE  OF  THE  BATON 


23 


of  time  beating  an  elaborated  version  of  the  foregoing 
figures  is  supplied.  It  is  of  course  understood  that  such 
diagrams  are  of  value  only  in  giving  a  general  idea  of 
these  more  complex  movements  and  that  they  are  not 
to  be  followed  minutely. 


or 


/D 


TWO-BEAT    MEASURE 


THREE-BEAT   MEASURE 


FOUR-BEAT    MEASURE 


SIX-BEAT    MEASURE 


"V-   1 


VERY    SLOW 
TWO-BEAT   MEASURE 


VERY   SLOW 
THREE-BEAT    MEASURE 


24 


ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

f  987 


SLOW    FOUR-BEAT 
MEASURE 


321   45 


6 


SLOW   NINE -BEAT 
MEASURE 


789 

SLOW    TWELVE-BEAT   MEASURE 

An  examination  of  these  figures  will  show  that 
all  baton  movements  are  based  upon  four  general 
principles : 

1.  The  strongest  pulse  of  a  measure  (the  first  one)  is  always  marked  by  a 
down-beat.  This  principle  is  merely  a  specific  application  of  the  general  fact 
that  a  downward  stroke  is  stronger  than  an  upward  one  (c/.  driving  a  nail). 

2.  The  last  pulse  of  a  measure  is  always  marked  by  an  up-beat,  since  it  is 
generally  the  weakest  part  of  the  measure. 

3.  In  three-  and  four-beat  measures,  the  beats  are  so  planned  that  there  is 
never  any  danger  of  the  hands  colliding  in  conducting  vigorous  movements 
that  call  for  the  use  of  the  free  hand  as  well  as  the  one  holding  the  baton. 

4.  In  compound  measures  the  secondary  accent  is  marked  by  a  beat  al- 
most as  strong  as  that  given  the  primary  accent. 

NUMBER  OF  BEATS  The  fact  that  a  composition  is 

DETERMINED  BY  TEMPO  in  4-4  measure  does  not  neces- 
sarily mean  that  every  measure 
is  to  be  directed  by  being  given  four  actual  beats,  and 
one  of  the  things  that  the  conductor  must  leam  is  when 
to  give  more  beats  and  when  fewer. 

If  the  tempo  is  very  rapid,   the   4-4  measure  will 


TECHNIQUE  OF  THE  BATON  25 

probably  be  given  only  two  beats,  but  in  an  adagio  move- 
ment, as,  e.g.,  the  first  part  of  the  Messiah  overture,  it 
may  be  necessary  to  beat  eight  for  each  measure  in 
order  to  insure  rhythmic  continuity.  There  are  many 
examples  of  triple  measure  in  which  the  movement  is 
so  rapid  as  to  make  it  impracticable  to  beat  three  in  a 
measure,  and  the  conductor  is  therefore  content  merely 
to  give  a  down-beat  at  the  beginning  of  each  measure; 
waltzes  are  commonly  conducted  by  giving  a  down-beat 
for  the  first  measure,  an  up-beat  for  the  second,  et  cetera; 
a  six-part  measure  in  rapid  tempo  receives  but  two  beats; 
while  9—8  and  12-8  are  ordinarily  given  but  three  and 
four  beats  respectively. 

It  is  not  only  annoying  but  absolutely  fatiguing  to  see 
a  conductor  go  through  all  manner  of  contortions  in  try- 
ing to  give  a  separate  beat  to  each  pulse  of  the  measure 
in  rapid  tempos;  and  the  effect  upon  the  performers  is 
even  worse  than  upon  the  audience,  for  a  stronger  rhyth- 
mic reaction  will  always  be  stimulated  if  the  rhythm  is 
felt  in  larger  units  rather  than  in  smaller  ones.  But  on 
the  other  hand,  the  tempo  is  sometimes  so  very  slow 
that  no  sense  of  continuity  can  be  aroused  by  giving 
only  one  beat  for  each  pulse;  hence,  as  already  noted, 
it  is  often  best  to  give  double  the  number  of  beats  in- 
dicated by  the  measure  sign.  In  general,  these  two 
ideas  may  be  summarized  in  the  following  rule:  As  the 
tempo  becomes  more  rapid,  decrease  the  number  of  beats; 
but  as  it  becomes  slower,  increase  the  number,  at  the  same 
time  elaborating  the  beat  so  as  to  express  more  tangibly  the 
idea  of  a  steady  forward  movement. 

In  order  to  clarify  these  matters  still  further  another 
series  of  figures  is  here  supplied,  these  giving  the  more 
highly  elaborated  movements  employed  in  slower  tempos. 
As  in  the  case  of  the  diagrams  on  pages  23  and  24  these 
figures  are  intended  to  be  suggestive  only,  and  it  is  not 
expected  that  any  one  will  copy  the  indicated  movements 
exactly  as  given. 


26  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

SHALL  WE  BEAT  In  this  Same  connection,  the  amateur 
THE  RHYTHM  OR  jj^g^y  perhaps  raise  the  question  as  to 
whether  it  is  wise  to  beat  the  rhythm 
or  the  pulse  in  such  a  measure  as  J  J^  J  J  .  In  other 
words,  is  it  well  to  give  a  down -beat  on  1,  two  small 
beats  toward  the  left  for  2,  while  3  and  4  are  treated  in 
the  ordinary  way?  This  question  may  be  answered  by 
referring  to  the  rule  given  on  page  25,  but  perhaps  it  will 
be  safer  to  make  the  application  more  specific  by  advising 
the  young  conductor  to  adhere  fairly  closely  to  beating 
the  pulse  unless  a  much  slower  tempo  makes  extra  beats 
necessary.  The  additional  movements  may  be  of  some 
service  in  certain  cases,  but  in  general  they  tend  to  con- 
fuse rather  than  to  clarify,  this  being  especially  true  in 
the  case  of  syncopated  rhythms.  The  only  exceptions 
to  this  principle  are: 

1.  When  a  phrase  begins  with  a  tone  that  is  on  a  fractional  part  of 
the  beat;  e.g.,  if  the  preceding  phrase  ends  with  an  eighth,  thus: 
IJ  J  J  J^^J^  I  (J  s)  I;  for  in  this  case  the  phrasing  cannot  be  indi- 
cated clearly  without  dividing  the  beat. 

2.  When  there  is  a  ritardando  and  it  becomes  necessary  to  give  a  larger 
number  of  beats  in  order  to  show  just  how  much  slower  the  tempo  is  to  be. 
The  second  point  is  of  course  covered  by  the  general  rule  already  referred  to. 

The  conductor  must  train  himself  to  change  instantly 
from  two  beats  in  the  measure  to  four  or  six;  from  one 
to  three,  et  cetera^  so  that  he  may  be  able  at  any  time 
to  suit  the  number  of  beats  to  the  character  of  the  music 
at  that  particular  point.  This  is  particularly  necessary 
in  places  where  a  ritardando  makes  it  desirable  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  performers  to  have  a  larger  number  of 
beats. 

THE  DOTTED-QUARTER     Although  Covered  in  general  by 
AS  A  BEAT  NOTE  ^j^^  preceding  discussion,  it  ma\' 

perhaps  be  well  to  state  specifi- 
cally that  the  compound  measures  6-8,  9-8,  and  12-8  are 
ordinarily  taken  as  duple,  triple,  and  quadruple  measures. 


TECHNIQUE  OF  THE  BATON  27 

respectively.  In  other  words,  the  dotted-quarter-note 
f  J . )  is  thought  of  as  the  beat  note,  some  modem  editors 
going  so  far  as  to  write  ^  •  in  place  of  6-8  as  the  measure 
sign;  ^-  in  place  of  9-8;  and  ••  in  place  of  12-8.  In 
conducting  these  various  types  of  measure,  the  general 
principle  given  on  page  25  again  apphes,  and  if  the 
tempo  is  very  slow,  the  conductor  beats  6,  9,  or 
12,  to  the  measure,  but  if  it  is  rapid,  the  flow  of  the 
rhythm  is  much  better  indicated  by  2,  3,  and  4  beats 
respectively. 

FIVE- AND  SEVEN-  Although  only  occasionally  encoun- 
BEAT  MEASURES  tered  by  the  amateur,  five-  and  seven- 
beat  measures  are  now  made  use  of 
frequently  enough  by  composers  to  make  some  explana- 
tion of  their  treatment  appropriate.  A  five-beat  meas- 
ure (quintuple)  is  a  compound  measure  comprising  a 
two-beat  and  a  three-beat  one.  Sometimes  the  two- 
beat  group  is  first,  and  sometimes  the  three-beat  one. 
If  the  former,  then  the  conductor's  beat  will  be  down-up, 
down-right-up.  But  if  it  is  the  other  way  about,  then 
the  beat  will  naturally  be  down-right-up,  down-up. 
"But  how  am  I  to  know  which  comes  first.'*"  asks  the 
tyro.  And  our  answer  is,  "Study  the  music,  and  if  you 
cannot  find  out  in  this  way,  you  ought  not  to  be  con- 
ducting the  composition." 

Just  as  quintuple  measure  is  a  compound  measure  com- 
prising two  pulse-groups,  one  of  three  and  the  other  of 
two  beats,  so  seven-beat  measure  (septuple)  consists  of 
a  four-beat  group  plus  a  three-beat  one.  If  the  four- 
beat  measure  is  first,  the  conductor's  beat  will  be  down- 
left-right-up,  down-right-up;  i.e.,  the  regular  move- 
ments for  quadruple  measure  followed  by  those  for 
triple;  but  if  the  combination  is  three  plus  four,  it  will 
be  the  other  way  about.  Sometimes  the  composer  helps 
the  conductor  by  placing  a  dotted  bar  between  the  two 
parts  of  the  septuple  measure,  thus:    I  J  J  J  J  i  J  J  J  I 


28  ESSENTIALS   TN   CONDUCTING 

AN  IMPORTANT  The  most  fundamental  principle  of 
PRINCIPLE  OF  time  beating,  and  the  one  concerning 
TIME  BEATING  u*  u  +u  j      +       •         *  +    u 

which  the  young  conductor  is  apt  to  be 

most  ignorant,  is  the  following:  The  baton  must  not 
usually  come  to  a  standstill  at  the  points  marking  the  beats, 
neither  must  it  move  in  a  straight  line  from  one  point  to 
another,  except  in  the  case  of  the  doum  beat;  for  it  is  the 
free  and  varying  movement  of  the  baton  between  any  two 
beats  that  gives  the  singers  or  players  their  cue  as  to  -where 
the  second  of  the  two  is  to  come.  We  may  go  further  and 
say  that  the  preliminary  movement  made  before  the  baton 
arrives  at  what  might  be  termed  the  "bottom"  of  the 
beat  is  actually  more  important  than  the  "bottom"  of 
the  beat  itself.  When  the  baton  is  brought  down  for 
the  first  beat  of  the  measure,  the  muscles  contract  until 
the  imaginary  point  which  the  baton  is  to  strike  has 
been  reached,  relaxing  while  the  hand  moves  on  to  the 
next  point  (i.e.,  the  second  beat)  gradually  contracting 
again  as  this  point  is  reached,  and  relaxing  immediately 
afterward  as  the  hand  moves  on  to  the  third  beat.  In 
the  diagrams  of  baton  movements  given  on  preceding 
pages,  the  accumulating  force  of  muscular  contraction  is 
shown  by  the  gradually  increasing  thickness  of  the  line, 
proceeding  from  the  initial  part  of  the  stroke  to  its  cul- 
mination; while  the  light  curved  line  immediately  fol- 
lowing this  culmination  indicates  the  so-called  "back- 
stroke," the  muscular  relaxation.  It  is  easy  to  see 
that  this  muscular  contraction  is  what  gives  the  beat 
its  definiteness,  its  "bottom,"  while  the  relaxation  is 
what  gives  the  effect  of  continuity  or  flow.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  when  the  baton  is  brought  down  on  an 
accented  beat,  the  beginning  of  the  back-stroke  is  felt  by 
the  conductor  as  a  sort  of  "rebound"  of  the  baton  from 
the  bottom  of  the  beat,  and  this  sensation  of  rebounding 
helps  greatly  in  giving  "point"  to  these  accented  beats. 
In  order  to  understand  fully  the  principle  that  we  have 
just  been  discussing,  it  must  be  recalled  that  rhythm  is 


TECHNIQUE  OF  THE  BATON  29 

not  a  succession  of  jerks,  but  is  basically  a  steady  flow, 
a  regular  succession  of  similar  impulses,  the  word 
rhythm  itself  coming  from  a  Greek  stem  meaning  "flow." 
Like  all  other  good  things,  this  theory  of  continuous 
movement  may  be  carried  to  excess,  and  one  occasion- 
ally sees  conducting  that  has  so  much  "back-stroke" 
that  there  is  no  definiteness  of  beat  whatsoever;  in  other 
words  there  is  no  "bottom"  to  the  beat,  and  conse- 
quently no  precision  in  the  conducting.  But  on  the 
other  hand,  there  is  to  be  observed  also  a  great  deal  of 
conducting  in  which  the  beats  sieem  to  be  thought  of  as 
imaginary  points,  the  conductor  apparently  feeling  that 
it  is  his  business  to  get  from  one  to  another  of  these 
points  in  as  straight  a  line  as  possible,  and  with  no 
relaxation  of  muscle  whatever.  Such  conductors  often 
imagine  that  they  are  being  very  definite  and  very  pre- 
cise indeed  in  their  directing,  and  have  sometimes  been 
heard  to  remark  that  the  singers  or  players  whom  they 
were  leading  seemed  exceedingly  stupid  about  following 
the  beat,  especially  in  the  attacks.  The  real  reason  for 
sluggish  rhythmic  response  and  poor  attacks  is,  how- 
ever, more  often  to  be  laid  at  the  door  of  a  poorly  exe- 
cuted beat  by  the  conductor  than  to  the  stupidity  of  the 
chorus  or  orchestra.* 

*  It  is  but  a  step  from  the  conclusions  amred  at  above  to  a  corollary  relating  to  con- 
ducting from  the  organ  bench.  How  does  it  happen  that  most  choirs  directed  by  an 
organist-conductor  do  not  attack  promptly,  do  not  follow  tempo  changes  readily,  and 
do  not  in  general  present  examples  of  good  ensemble  performance?  Is  it  not  because 
the  organist  is  using  his  hands  and  feet  for  other  purposes,  and  cannot  therefore  indicate 
to  his  singers  the  "continuous  (low  of  rhythm"  above  referred  to?  When  a  conductor 
directing  with  a  baton  wishes  to  indicate  a  rilardando,  he  docs  so  not  merely  by  making 
the  iieals  follow  one  another  at  longer  intervals,  but  even  more  by  making  a  more  elabo- 
rate and  more  extensive  movement  between  the  beat  culminations;  and  the  musicians 
have  no  ditTiculty  in  following  the  baton,  because  it  is  kept  continuously  in  motion,  tJhe 
points  where  the  muscular  contractions  come  being  easily  felt  by  tlie  performers,  because 
they  can  thus  follow  the  rhythm  in  their  own  muscles  by  instinctive  imitation.  But 
when  the  organLst-conductor  wishes  a  rilardando,  he  merely  plays  more  slowly,  and  the 
singers  must  get  their  idea  of  the  slower  tempo  entirely  through  the  ear.  Since  rhythm 
is  a  matter  of  muscle  rather  than  of  ear,  it  will  be  readily  understood  that  conducting 
and  organ-playing  will  never  go  hand  in  hand  to  any  very  great  extent.  There  is,  of 
course,  another  reason  for  the  failure  of  many  organists  who  try  to  play  and  conduct 
simultaneously,  viz.,  that  they  are  not  able  to  do  two  things  successfully  at  the  same 
time,  so  that  the  chorus  is  often  left  to  work  out  its  own  salvation  as  best  it  may;  while, 
if  the  conducting  is  done  by  using  the  left  hand,  the  organ  end  of  the  combination  is  not 
usually  managed  with  any  degree  of  distinction.  Because  of  this  and  certain  other  well- 
known  reasons,  the  writer  believes  that  choral  music  in  general,  and  church  music  in 
particular,  would  be  greatly  benefited  by  a  widespread  return  to  the  mixed  chorus,  led 
by  a  conductor  with  baton  in  hand,  and  accompanied  by  an  organist. 


30  ESSENTIALS  IN   CONDUCTING 

HOW  TO  SECURE  Coordinate  with  the  discussion  of  con- 
A  FIRM  ATTACK  tinuous  movement  and  back-stroke, 
the  following  principle  should  be  noted : 
A  preliminary  movement  suffl,ciently  ample  to  be  easily 
followed  by  the  eye  must  be  made  before  actually  giving  the 
beat  upon  which  the  singers  or  players  are  to  begin  the 
tone,  if  the  attack  is  to  be  delivered  with  precision  and 
confidence.  Thus  in  the  case  of  a  composition  beginning 
upon  the  first  beat  of  a  measure,  the  conductor  holds  the 
baton  poised  in  full  view  of  all  performers,  then,  before 
actually  bringing  it  down  for  the  attack,  he  raises  it 
shghtly,  this  upward  movement  often  corresponding  to 
the  back-stroke  between  an  imaginary  preceding  beat 
and  the  actual  beat  with  which  the  composition  begins. 
When  a  composition  begins  upon  the  weak  beat  (e.g.,  the 
fourth  beat  of  a  four-pulse  measure),  the  preceding 
strong  beat  itself,  together  with  the  back-stroke  accom- 
panying it,  is  often  given  as  the  preparation  for  the 
actual  initial  beat.  In  case  this  is  done  the  conductor 
must  guard  against  making  this  prehminary  strong  beat 
so  prominent  as  to  cause  the  performers  to  mistake  it 
for  the  actual  signal  to  begin.  If  the  first  phrase  begins 
with  an  eighth-note  (J*'  I  J  J~2  J  J  I),  give  a  short  beat 
for  4  and  an  extra  up-beat  for  the  first  note  of  the 
phrase.  If  it  begins  with  a  sixteenth-note,  do  the  same 
thing,  but  make  the  extra  up-beat  with  which  the  first 
tone  is  to  be  coincident  shorter  and  quicker.  If  a  good 
attack  cannot  be  secured  in  any  other  way,  beat  an 
entire  preliminary  measure  until  the  attack  goes  well, 
then  adopt  some  such  plan  as  has  just  been  suggested. 

THE  RELEASE  The  preliminary  up-beat  which  has  just 
been  discussed  is  equally  valuable  as  a 
preparation  for  the  "release"  or  "cut-off."  The  move- 
ment for  the  release  is  usually  a  down  stroke  to 
right  or  left,  or  even  upward.  It  is  customary  not  to 
beat  out  the  final  measure  of  a  composition  or  a  com- 


TECHNIQUE  OF  THE  BATON  31 

plete  final  section  of  a  composition,  but  to  bring  the 
baton  down  a  few  inches  for  the  first  beat  of  the  measure, 
and  then  to  hold  it  poised  in  this  position,  either  count- 
ing the  beats  mentally,  or  trusting  to  feeling  to  determine 
the  time  for  stopping.  A  slight  upward  movement  is 
then  made  just  before  the  tone  is  to  be  released,  and  it 
is  the  warning  conveyed  by  this  preliminary  movement 
that  enables  the  performers  to  release  the  tone  at  the 
precise  instant  when  the  baton  is  brought  down  for  the 
cut-off.  It  should  be  noted  that  the  release  ^must  come 
at  the  end  of  the  duration  value  of  the  final  note.  In 
4-4  a  final  J  .  would  therefore  be  held  up  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fourth  beat,  i.e.,  until  one  is  on  the  point  of 
counting  four;  a  final  ^ ,  until  the  beginning  of  the  first 
beat  of  the  following  measure.  It  is  because  of  careless- 
ness or  ignorance  on  this  point  that  composers  now 
sometimes  resort  to  such  devices  as  -sj^  i  i  *  I  to 
show  that  the  final  tone  has  four  full  beats.  In  such  a 
case,  the  ending  <^_t^  i  1  ^  I  means  exactly  the  same 
thing  as  ^  I  ^  I,  the  tone  being  released  precisely  on 
one  of  the  following  measure,  in  either  case. 

THE  HOLD  In  the  case  of  a  hold  (fermata),  the  move- 
ment for  the  cut-off  depends  upon  the  nature 
of  what  follows.  If  the  tone  to  be  prolonged  forms  the 
end  of  a  phrase  or  section,  the  baton  is  brought  down 
vigorously  as  at  the  end  of  a  composition;  but  if  the 
hold  occurs  at  the  end  of  a  phrase  in  such  a  way  as  not 
to  form  a  decided  closing  point,  or  if  it  occurs  in  the 
midst  of  the  phrase  itself,  the  cut-off  is  not  nearly  so  pro- 
nounced, and  the  conductor  must  exercise  care  to  move 
his  baton  in  such  a  direction  as  to  insure  its  being  ready 
to  give  a  clear  signal  for  the  attack  of  the  tone  follow- 
ing the  hold.  Thus,  with  a  hold  on  the  third  beat, 
I  f  •  ^  •  I  the  cut-off  would  probably  be  toward  the 
right  and  upward,  this  movement  then  serving  also  as 
a  preliminary  for  the  fourth  beat  to  follow. 


32  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

THE  ATTACK  For  working  in  rehearsal  it  is  convenient 
IN  READING  to  use  some  such  exclamation  as  "Ready — 
Sing,"  or  "Ready — Play,"  in  order  that 
amateur  musicians  may  be  enabled  to  attack  the  first 
chord  promptly,  even  in  reading  new  music.  In  this  case 
the  word  "Ready"  comes  just  before  the  preliminary 
movement;  the  word  "Sing"  or  "Play"  being  coincident 
with  the  actual  preliminary  movement.  In  preparing 
for  a  public  performance,  however,  the  conductor  should 
be  careful  not  to  use  these  words  so  much  in  rehearsing 
that  his  musicians  will  have  difficulty  in  making  their 
attacks  without  hearing  them. 

LENGTH  OF  The  length  and  general  character  of  the 
THE  STROKE  baton  movement  depend  upon  the  emo- 
tional quality  of  the  music  being  con- 
ducted. A  bright,  snappy  Scherzo  in  rapid  tempo  will 
demand  a  short,  vigorous  beat,  with  almost  no  elabora- 
tion of  back-stroke;  while  for  a  slow  and  stately  Choral, 
a  long,  flowing  'beat  with  a  highly-elaborated  back- 
stroke will  be  appropriate.  The  first  beat  of  the  phrase 
in  any  kind  of  music  is  usually  longer  and  more  promi- 
nent, in  order  that  the  various  divisions  of  the  design 
may  be  clearly  marked.  It  is  in  the  length  of  the 
stroke  that  the  greatest  diversity  in  time  beating  will 
occur  in  the  case  of  various  individual  conductors,  and 
it  is  neither  possible  nor  advisable  to  give  specific  direc- 
tions to  the  amateur.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  if  he  under- 
stands clearly  the  foregoing  principles  of  handling  the 
baton,  and  if  his  musical  feeling  is  genuine,  there  will 
be  little  difficulty  at  this  point. 

NON-MEASURED     The  directions  for  beating  time  thus  far 
^^^^^  given  have,  of  course,  referred  exclu- 

sively to  what  is  termed  "measured 
music,"  i.e.y  music  in  which  the  rhythm  consists  of 
groups  of  regularly  spaced  beats,  the  size  and  general 


TECHNIQUE  OF  THE  BATON  33 

characteristics  of  the  group  depending  upon  the  number 
and  position  of  the  accents  in  each  measure.  There 
exists,  however,  a  certain  amount  of  non-measured  vocal 
music,  and  a  word  concerning  the  most  common  varie- 
ties (recitative  and  AngHcan  chant)  will  perhaps  be  in 
order  before  closing  our  discussion  of  beating  time. 

RECITATIVE  In  conducting  the  accompaniment  of  a 
vocal  solo  of  the  recitative  style,  and  par- 
ticularly that  variety  referred  to  as  recitativo  secco,  the 
most  important  baton  movement  is  a  down-beat  after 
each  bar.  The  conductor  usually  follows  the  soloist 
through  the  group  of  words  found  between  two  bars 
with  the  conventional  baton  movements,  but  this  does 
not  imply  regularly  spaced  pulses  as  in  the  case  of 
measured  music,  and  the  beats  do  not  correspond  in  any 
way  to  those  of  the  ordinary  measure  of  rhythmic  music. 
They  merely  enable  the  accompanying  players  to  tell  at 
approximately  what  point  in  the  measure  the  singer  is 
at  any  given  time,  the  up-beat  at  the  end  of  the  group 
giving  warning  of  the  near  approach  of  the  next  group. 

THE  ANGLICAN  In  the  case  of  the  AngUcan  chant,  it 
CHANT  should  be  noted  that  there  are  two  parts 

to  each  verse:  one,  a  reciting  portion 
in  which  there  is  no  measured  rhythm;  the  other,  a 
rhythmic  portion  in  which  the  pulses  occur  as  in  meas- 
ured music.  In  the  reciting  portion  of  the  chant,  the 
rhythm  is  that  of  ordinary  prose  speech,  punctuation 
marks  being  observed  as  in  conventional  language  read- 
ing. This  makes  it  far  more  difficult  to  keep  the  singers 
together,  and  in  order  to  secure  uniformity,  some  con- 
ductors give  a  slight  movement  of  the  baton  for  each 
syllable;  others  depend  upon  a  down-beat  at  the  begin- 
ning of  each  measure  together  with  the  lip  movements 
made  by  the  conductor  himself  and  followed  minutely 
by  the  chorus. 


34  ESSENTIALS  IN   CONDUCTING 

The  beginning  of  the  second  part  of  the  chant  is  indicated 
by  printing  its  first  syllable  in  italics,  by  placing  an  accent 
mark  over  it,  or  by  some  other  similar  device.  This  syllable 
is  then  regarded  as  the  first  accented  tone  of  the  metrical 
division  of  the  chant,  and,  beginning  with  it,  the  con- 
ductor beats  time  as  in  ordinary  measured  music.  If 
no  other  syllable  follows  the  accented  one  before  a  bar 
occurs,  it  is  understood  that  the  accented  syllable  is  to 
be  held  for  two  beats,  i.e.,  a  measure's  duration.  Final 
ed  is  always  pronounced  as  a  separate  syllable. 

The  most  important  thing  for  an  amateur  to  learn 
about  conducting  the  Anglican  chant  is  that  before  he 
can  successfully  direct  others  in  singing  this  type  of 
choral  music,  he  must  himself  practically  memorize  each 
chant.  The  amateur  should  perhaps  also  be  warned 
not  to  have  the  words  of  the  first  part  of  the  chant 
recited  too  rapidly.  All  too  frequently  there  is  so  much 
hurrying  that  only  a  few  of  the  most  prominent  words 
are  distinguishable,  most  of  the  connecting  words  being 
entirely  lost.  A  more  deliberate  style  of  chanting  than 
that  in  ordinary  use  would  be  much  more  in  keeping 
with  the  idea  of  dignified  worship.  Before  asking  the 
choir  to  sing  a  new  chant,  it  is  often  well  to  have  the 
members  recite  it,  thus  emphasizing  the  fact  that  the 
meaning  of  the  text  must  be  brought  out  in  the  singing. 
In  inaugurating  chanting  in  churches  where  this  form  of 
music  has  not  previously  formed  a  part  of  the  service, 
it  will  be  well  to  have  both  choir  and  congregation  sing 
the  melody  in  unison  for  a  considerable  period  before 
attempting  to  chant  in  parts. 

THE  NECESSITY  Now  that  we  have  laid  down  the  prin- 

OF  PRACTICE  IN  ciples  upon  the  basis  of  which  our  pro- 
HANDLING  THE  *•  i      .        •     *     u      +  4.-  1  ♦ 

BATON  spective  conductor  is  to  beat  time,  let 

us  warn  him  once  more  that  here,  as  in 
other  things,  it  is  intelligent  practice  that  makes  per- 
fect, and  that  if  he  is  to  learn  to  handle  the  baton  sue- 


TECHNIQUE  OF  THE  BATON  35 

cessfully,  and  particularly  if  he  is  to  learn  to  do  it  so 
well  that  he  need  never  give  the  slightest  thought  to  his 
baton  while  actually  conducting,  hours  of  practice  in 
beating  time  will  be  necessary.  This  practising  should 
sometimes  take  place  before  a  mirror,  or  better  still,  in 
the  presence  of  some  critical  friend,  so  that  a  graceful 
rather  than  a  grotesque  style  of  handling  the  baton  may 
result;  it  should  also  be  done  with  the  metronome  click- 
ing or  with  some  one  playing  the  piano  much  of  the  time, 
in  order  that  the  habit  of  maintaining  an  absolutely 
steady,  even  tempo  may  evolve.  The  phonograph  may 
also  be  utilized  for  this  purpose,  and  may  well  become 
an  indispensable  factor  in  training  conductors  in  the' 
future,  it  being  possible  in  this  way  to  study  the  ele- 
ments of  interpretation  as  well  as  to  practise  beating 
time. 

BATON  TECHNIQUE  It  must  not  be  imagined  that  if  one 

NOT  SUFFICIENT  jg  fortunate  enough  to  acquire  the 

FOR  SUCCESS  IN  .    ,       p,         i,.       xif   i     .           u-  u 

CONDUCTING  style  of  handlmg  the  baton  which  we 

have  been  advocating  one  will  at 
once  achieve  success  as  a  conductor.  The  factors  of 
musical  scholarship,  personal  magnetism,  et  cetera,  men- 
tioned in  preceding  pages,  must  still  constitute  the  real 
foundation  of  conducting.  But  granting  the  presence 
of  these  other  factors  of  endowment  and  preparation, 
one  may  often  achieve  a  higher  degree  of  success  if  one 
has  developed  also  a  well-defined  and  easily-followed 
beat.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  technique  of  time 
beating  is  worthy  of  some  degree  of  serious  investiga- 
tion and  of  a  reasonable  amount  of  time  spent  in  prac- 
tice upon  it. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Interpretation  in  Conducting 

introductory 

THE  CONDUCTOR  Interpretation  from  the  standpoint  of 
AS  INTERPRETER  ^j^^  conductor  differs  from  interpreta- 
tion in  singing  and  playing  in  that  the 
conductor  must  necessarily  convey  ideas  or  emotions  to 
his  audience  through  an  intermediary,  viz.,  the  orchestra 
or  chorus.  He  furthermore  labors  under  the  disad- 
vantage of  having  to  stand  with  his  back  (certainly  the 
least  expressive  part  of  man's  physique)  to  the  audience. 
The  pianist,  singer,  and  violinist,  on  the  other  hand,  face 
their  audiences;  and  because  they  themselves  actually 
do  the  performing,  are  able  to  work  much  more  directly 
upon  the  minds  and  emotions  of  their  hearers.  For 
this  reason,  interpretation  must  be  studied  by  the  con- 
ductor from  a  twofold  basis: 

1.  From  the  standpoint  of  the  expressive  rendition  of  music  in  general. 

2.  From  the  standpoint  of  securing  the  expressive  rendition  of  music  from 
a  group  of  players  or  singers. 

We  shall  devote  this  and  the  three  following  chapters 
to  a  discussion  of  these  two  phases  of  interpretation. 

INTERPRETATION  The  word  interpret,  as  ordinarily 
AND  EXPRESSION  ^3^^^  j^gans  "to  explain,"— "to  eluci- 
date,"— "to  make  clear  the  meaning 
of,"  and  this  same  definition  of  the  word  applies  to 
music  as  well,  the  conductor  or  performer  "making 
clear"  to  the  audience  the  message  given  him  by  the 
composer.     It  should  be  noted  at  once,  however,  that 


INTERPRETATTON   IN  CONDUCTING  37 

interpretation  in  music  is  merely  the  process  or  means 
for  securing  the  larger  thing  called  expression,  and  in 
discussing  this  larger  thing,  the  activity  of  two  persons 
is  always  assumed;  one  is  the  composer,  the  other  the 
performer.  Which  of  these  two  is  the  more  important 
j>ersonage  has  been  for  many  decades  a  much  mooted 
question  among  concert-goers.  Considered  from  an  in- 
tellectual standpoint,  there  is  no  doubt  whatever  con- 
cerning the  supremacy  of  the  composer;  but  when 
viewed  in  the  light  of  actual  box  office  experience,  on  an 
evening  when  Caruso  or  some  other  popular  idol  has 
been  slated  to  appear,  and  cannot  do  so  because  of  in- 
disposition, it  would  seem  as  if  the  performer  were  still 
as  far  above  the  composer  as  he  was  in  the  days  of 
eighteenth-century  opera  in  Italy. 

It  is  the  composer's  function  to  write  music  of  such  a 
character  that  when  well  performed  it  will  occasion  an 
emotional  reaction  on  the  part  of  performer  and  listener. 
Granting  this  type  of  music,  it  is  the  function  of  the  per- 
former or  conductor  to  so  interpret  the  music  that  an 
appropriate  emotional  reaction  will  actually  ensue.  A 
recent  writer  calls  the  performer  a  messenger  from  the 
composer  to  the  audience,  and  states*  that  — 

As  a  messenger  is  accountable  to  both  sender  and  recipient  of  his  message, 
so  is  the  interpretative  artist  in  a  position  of  twofold  trust  and,  therefore,  of 
twofold  responsibility.  The  sender  of  his  message — creative  genius — is  behind 
him;  before  him  sits  an  expectant  and  confiding  audience,  the  sovereign  ad- 
dressee. The  interpretative  artist  has,  therefore,  first  to  enter  into  the 
spirit  of  his  message;  to  penetrate  its  ultimate  meaning;  to  read  in,  as  well  as 
between,  the  lines.  And  then  he  has  to  train  and  develop  his  faculties  of  de- 
livery, of  vital  production,  to  such  a  degree  as  to  enable  him  to  fix  his  message 
decisively,  and  with  no  danger  of  being  misunderstood,  in  the  mind  of  his  auditor. 

This  conception  of  the  conductor's  task  demands  from 
him  two  things: 

1.  A  careful,  painstaking  study  of  the  work  to  be  performed,  so  as  to  be- 
come thoroughly  familiar  with  its  content  and  to  discover  its  true  emotional 
significance. 

♦  Coiistaiitin  von  Sternberg,  Ethics  and  EtUietics  of  Piano  Playing,  p.  10. 


38  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

i.  Such  display  of  emotion  in  his  conducting  as  will  arouse  a  sympathetic 
response,  first  on  the  part  of  orchestra  and  chorus,  and  then  in  turn  in  the 
audience. 


EMOTION  IN  Real  interpretation,  then,  requires,  on 

INTERPRETATION  t^e  part  of  the  conductor,  just  as  in 
the  case  of  the  actor,  a  display  of  emo- 
tion. Coldness  and  self-restraint  will  not  suffice,  for 
these  represent  merely  the  intellectual  'aspect  of  the 
art,  and  music  is  primarily  a  language  of  the  emotions. 
This  difference  constitutes  the  dividing  line  between  per- 
formances that  merely  arouse  our  judicial  comment 
"That  was  exceedingly  well  done";  and  those  on  the 
other  hand  that  thrill  us,  carry  us  off  our  feet,  sweep  us 
altogether  out  of  our  environment  so  that  for  the  mo- 
ment we  forget  where  we  are,  lose  sight  temporarily  of 
our  petty  cares  and  grievances,  and  are  permitted  to 
live  for  a  little  while*  in  an  altogether  different  world — 
the  world  not  of  things  and  ambitions  and  cares,  but  of 
ecstasy.  Such  performances  and  such  an  attitude  on 
the  part  of  the  listener  are  all  too  rare  in  these  days  of 
smug  intellectualism  and  hypersophistication,  and  we 
venture  to  assert  that  this  is  at  least  partly  due  to  the 
fact  that  many  present-day  conductors  are  intellectual 
rather  than  emotional  in  their  attitude. 

It  is  this  faculty  of  displaying  emotion,  of  entirely  sub- 
merging himself  in  the  work  being  performed,  that  gives 
the  veteran  choral  conductor  Tomlins  his  phenomenal 
hold  on  chorus  and  audience.  In  a  performance  of 
choral  works  recently  directed  by  this  conductor,  the 
listener  was  made  to  feel  at  one  moment  the  joy  of 
springtime,  with  roses  blooming  and  lovers  wooing,  as  a 
light,  tuneful  chorus  in  waltz  movement  was  being  per- 
formed; then  in  a  trice,  one  was  whisked  over  to  the 
heart  of  Russia,  and  made  to  see,  as  though  they  were 
actually  present,  a  gang  of  boatmen  as  they  toiled  along 
the  bank  of  the  Volga  with  the  tow-rope  over  their 


INTERPRETATION  IN  CONDUCTING  39 

shoulders,  tugging  away  at  a  barge  which  moved  slowly 
up  from  the  distance,  past  a  clump  of  trees,  and  then 
gradually  disappeared  around  a  bend  in  the  river;  and 
in  yet  another  moment,  one  was  thrilled  through  and 
through  with  religious  fervor  in  response  to  the  grandeur 
and  majestic  stateliness  of  the  Mendelssohn  Motet, 
Judge  Me,  oh  God. 

It  was  interpretation  of  this  type  too  that  gave  the 
actor-singer  Wullner  such  a  tremendous  hold  upon  his 
audiences  a  few  years  ago,  this  artist  achieving  a  veritable 
triumph  by  the  tremendous  sincerity  and  vividness  of 
his  dramatic  impersonations  in  singing  German  Lieder. 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  possessed  a  voice  of  only 
average  quality. 

It  was  an  emotional  response  of  this  character  that 
the  Greek  philosophers  must  have  been  thinking  of 
when  they  characterized  drama  as  a  "purge  for  the  soul"; 
and  surely  it  must  still  be  good  for  human  beings  to  for- 
get themselves  occasionally  and  to  become  merged  in 
this  fashion  in  the  wave  of  emotion  felt  by  performer  and 
fellow-listener  in  response  to  the  message  of  the  composer. 

It  is  emotion  of  this  type  also  that  the  great  com- 
posers have  sought  to  arouse  through  their  noblest 
compositions.  Handel  is  said  to  have  replied,  when 
congratulated  upon  the  excellence  of  the  entertainment 
afforded  by  the  Messiah,  "I  am  sorry  if  I  have  only 
entertained  them;  I  hoped  to  do  them  good."  An 
English  writer,  in  quoting  this  incident,  adds:* 

What  Handel  tried  to  do  ...  by  wedding  6ne  music  to  an  inspiring  text, 
Beethoven  succeeded  in  doing  through  instruments  alone  .  .  .  for  never 
have  instruments — no  matter  how  pleasing  they  were  in  the  past — been  cap- 
able of  stirring  the  inmost  feelings  as  they  have  done  since  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century. 

There  is  danger,  of  course,  here  as  everywhere,  that 
one  may  go  too  far;  and  it  is  entirely  conceivable  that 
both  soloist  and  conductor  might  go  to  such  extremes 

*  C.  F.  A.  WiUiams,  The  Rhythm  of  Modern  Music,  p.  13. 


40  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

in  their  display  of  emotion  that  the  music  would  be 
entirely  distorted,  losing  what  is  after  all  its  main  raison 
d'etre,  viz.,  the  element  of  beauty.  But  there  seems  at 
present  to  be  no  especial  danger  that  such  an  event  will 
occur;  the  tendency  seems  rather  to  be  toward  over- 
emphasizing intellectualism  in  music,  and  toward  turn- 
ing our  art  into  a  science.*  The  thing  that  we  should 
like  to  convince  the  prospective  conductor  of  is  that  real 
interpretation — i.e.,  genuinely  expressive  musical  per- 
formance— demands  an  actual  display  of  emotion  on  the 
part  of  the  conductor  if  the  ideal  sort  of  reaction  is  to 
be  aroused  in  the  audience. 

In  order  to  interpret  a  musical  work,  then,  the  con- 
ductor himself  must  first  study  it  so  as  to  discover  what 
the  composer  intended  to  express.  Having  become 
thoroughly  permeated  with  the  composer's  message,  he 
may  then  by  instinctive  imitation  arouse  in  his  chorus 
or  orchestra  so  strong  a  reflection  of  this  mood  that 
they  will  perform  the  work  in  the  correct  spirit,  the 
audience  in  turn  catching  its  essential  significance,  and 
each  listener  in  his  own  way  responding  to  the  composer's 
message. 

DEFINITION  OF  Musical  interpretation  consists  thus  in 
INTERPRETATION  impressing  upon  the  listener  the  essen- 
tial character  of  the  music  by  empha- 
sizing the  important  elements  and  subordinating  the 
unimportant  ones;  by  indicating  in  a  clear-cut  and  un- 
mistakable way  the  phrasing,  and  through  skilful  phras- 
ing making  evident  the  design  of  the  composition  as  a 

*  This  danger  is  especially  insidious  just  now  in  our  college  and  high  school  courses  in 
the  appreciation  of  music.  Inslructors  in  such  courses  are  often  so  zealous  in  causing 
pupils  to  understand  the  machinery  involved  in  the  cotistruction  and  rendition  of  music 
that  they  sometimes  forget  to  emphasize  sufficiently  the  pro<luct  resulting  from  all  this 
machinery,  viz.,  beauty.  The  idea  of  thes«!  courses  is  most  excellent,  and  in  time  those 
in  charge  of  them  will  doubtless  realize  that  the  hearing  of  actual  music  in  the  class- 
room is  more  valuable  to  students  than  learning  a  mass  of  facts  about  it;  and  that  if  a 
choice  were  necessary  between  a  course  in  which  there  was  opportunity  for  hearing  a 
a  great  deal  of  music  without  any  comment,  and  one  on  the  other  hand  in  which  there 
was  a  great  deal  of  <»mment  without  any  niusic,  the  former  would  l>e  infinitely  preferable. 
But  such  a  choice  is  not  necessary;  and  the  ideal  course  in  the  Apprixiiatiou  of  Music 
is  one_  in  which  the  student  has  opportunity  for  hearing  a  great  deal  of  music  with  ap- 
propriate comments  by  the  iustructor. 


INTERPRETATION  IN  CONDUCTING  41 

whole;  and  in  general  by  so  manipulating  one's  musical 
forces  that  the  hearer  will  not  only  continue  to  be 
interested  in  the  performance,  but  will  feel  or  understand 
the  basic  significance  of  the  work  being  performed;  will 
catch  and  remember  the  important  things  in  it,  will  not 
have  his  attention  distracted  by  comparatively  unim- 
portant details,  and  will  thus  have  delivered  to  him  the 
real  spirit  of  the  composer's  message.  This  implies 
skilful  accentuation  of  melody,  subordination  of  accom- 
paniment, increasing  the  tempo  or  force  in  some  por- 
tions, decreasing  them  in  others,  et  cetera.  Clear  enun- 
ciation and  forceful  declamation  in  choral  music  are  also 
included,  and  in  it  all,  the  performer  or  conductor  must 
so  subordinate  his  own  personality  that  the  attention  of 
the  listeners  will  be  centered  upon  the  composition  and 
not  upon  the  eccentricities  of  dress  or  manner  of  the  artist. 

THE  BOUNDARIES  It  is  inevitable  that  there  should  be  con- 
OF  MUSIC  siderable  difference  of  opinion  among 

composers,  critics,  listeners,  and  per- 
formers, as  to  just  what  music  may  or  may  not  legiti- 
mately be  expected  to  express.  Soine  modem  com- 
posers are  apparently  convinced  that  it  ought  to  be  pos- 
sible through  music  to  suggest  pictures,  tell  stories,  or 
depict  moral  and  intellectual  struggles  on  the  part  of 
the  individual.  Others  contend  that  music  exists  solely 
because  of  its  own  inherent  beauty,  that  it  can  arouse 
general  emotional  states  only,  and  that  if  it  is  good 
music,  it  needs  no  further  meaning  than  this.  Even 
"pure  music,"  the  champions  of  this  latter  idea  urge, 
may  express  an  infinite  variety  of  emotional  tones,  from 
joy,  encouragement,  excitement,  tenderness,  expectancy, 
invigoration,  and  tranquillity,  to  dread,  oppression  of 
spirit,  hesitation,  harshness,  and  despondency.  A 
modem  writer  on  esthetics  treats  this  matter  at  length, 
and  finally  concludes:* 

*  Getiriiig,  The  Basis  of  Musical  Pleasure,  p.  89. 


42  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

Is  the  symbolization  pervasive  enough  to  account  for  the  steady  continuing 
charm  of  lengthy  compositions?  .  .  .  The  symbolizations  .  .  .  mostly  re- 
semble patches;  they  form  no  system,  no  plot  or  plan  accompanying  a  work 
from  beginning  to  end;  they  only  guarantee  a  fitful  enjoyment — a  fragment 
here,  a  gleam  there,  but  no  growing  organic  exaltation  like  that  actually  af- 
forded by  musical  compositions. 

At  another  point  in  the  same  work,  this  writer  again 
discusses  this  same  matter  (page  120): 

Music  is  presentative  in  character,  not  representative.  Measure,  to  be 
sure,  may  correspond  to  the  beating  of  the  pulse,  and  the  final  cadence  may 
picture  the  satisfaction  of  desires;  the  coda  may  simulate  a  mental  summary; 
but  the  composition  in  its  totality,  with  its  particular  melodies,  harmonies, 
and  rhythms,  and  with  the  specific  union  of  all  these  elements  characteristic  of 
this  composition,  does  not  represent  any  definite  psychical  or  material  fact. 

The  majority  of  us  would  doubtless  take  a  middle- 
ground  position,  admitting  the  beauty  and  power  of 
music,  per  se,  but  acknowledging  also  the  fact  that  ab- 
stract beauty  together  with  a  certain  amount  of  sug- 
gested imagery,  in  combination,  will  usually  make  a 
stronger  appeal  to  the  majority  of  people  than  either 
element  by  itself.  Many  of  us  are  entirely  willing  to 
grant,  therefore,  that  a  more  complex  and  more  vividly 
colored  emotional  state  will  probably  result  if  the  audi- 
tor is  furnished  with  the  title  or  program  of  the  work 
being  performed;  but  we  contend  nevertheless  that  this 
music,  regardless  of  its  connection  with  imagery,  must  at 
the  same  time  be  sound  music,  and  that  no  matter  how 
vividly  descriptive  our  tonal  art  may  become,  if  it  cannot 
stand  the  test  of  many  hearings  as  music,  entirely  apart 
from  the  imagery  aroused,  it  is  not  worthy  to  endure.  It 
is  not  the  meaning  of  the  music  which  makes  us  want  to 
hear  it  repeated,  but  its  inherent  beauty;  it  is  not  usually 
our  intellectual  impression,  but  our  emotional  thrill 
which  we  recall  in  thinking  back  over  a  past  musical 
experience. 

Those  of  us  who  take  the  middle  ground  that  we  have 
just  been  presenting  contend  also  that  descriptive  music 


INTERPRETATION  IN  CONDUCTING  43 

can  only  legitimately  arouse  its  appropriate  imagery 
when  the  essential  idea  has  been  supplied  beforehand  in 
the  form  of  a  title  or  program,  and  that  even  then  the 
effect  upon  various  individuals  is,  and  may  well  be,  quite 
different,  since  each  one  has  the  music  thrown,  as  it 
were,  upon  the  screen  of  his  own  personal  experience. 

EXPRESSION  It  will  be  noted  that  in  this  discussion 

CONCERNS  BOTH  ^g  ^^.^  constantly  using  the  word  ex- 
COMPOSER  AND  •        <.  . ,   *^  .       f  i  i      .        i      •    . 

PERFORMER  presston  irom  the  twoiold  standpjomt 

of  composer  and  performer,  each  hav- 
ing an  indispensable  part  in  it,  and  neither  being  able  to 
get  along  without  the  other.  But  in  our  treatment  of 
condu<?ting,  we  shall  need  to  come  back  again  and  again 
to  the  idea  of  expression  from  the  standpoint  of  inter- 
pretation, and  in  directing  a  piece  of  music  we  shall  now 
take  it  for  granted  that  the  composer  has  said  something 
which  is  worthy  of  being  heard,  and  that  as  the  inter- 
mediary between  composer  and  audience,  we  are  attempt- 
ing to  interpret  to  the  latter  what  the  former  has  ex- 
pressed in  his  composition.  It  should  be  noted  in  this 
connection  that  wrong  interpretation  is  possible  in 
music,  even  as  in  literature.  One  may  so  read  a  poem 
that  the  hearer,  without  being  in  any  way  to  blame,  will 
entirely  miss  the  point.  So  also  may  one  conduct  a 
musical  work,  whether  it  be  a  child's  song  or  a  sym- 
phonic poem,  in  such  a  fashion  that  neither  performers 
nor  audience  gain  a  proper  conception  of  what  it  means. 

INTERPRETATION  In  the  case  of  vocal  music,  the  key  to 
IN  VOCAL  MUSIC  ^j^^  emotional  content  of  the  work 
may  almost  always  be  found  by  care- 
fully studying  the  words.  In  preparing  to  conduct 
choral  singing,  master  the  text,  therefore;  read  it  aloud 
as  though  declaiming  to  an  audience;  and  when  you 
come  to  the  performance,  see  that  your  vocalists  sing 
the  music  in  such  a  way  that  the  audience  will  be  able 


44  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

to  catch  without  too  great  effort  both  the  meaning  of 
the  individual  words  and  the  spirit  of  the  text  as  a  whole. 
The  great  Itahan  tenor  Caruso  expressed  himself 
forcibly  upon  this  point  during  an  interview  for  the 
Christian  Science  Monitor,  in  1913.  In  reply  to  the 
question  "Where  do  you  locate  the  source  of  expression 
in  singing?"   he  said: 

I  find  it  in  the  words  always.  For  unless  I  give  my  hearers  what  is  in  the 
text,  what  can  I  give  them?  If  I  just  produce  tone,  my  singing  has  no  meaning. 

**Thereupon"  (continues  the  interviewer),  "vocalizing 
a  series  of  scale  passages  such  as  are  used  in  studio 
practice,  Caruso  commented": 

Now,  when  I  do  that,  I  don't  say  anything.  I  may  make  musical  sounds, 
but  I  express  nothing.  I  may  even  execute  the  notes  with  a  good  staccato 
or  legato  (again  illustrating  with  his  voice)  and  still,  having  no  words  to  go  by, 
I  make  no  effect  on  my  listeners. 

Look  at  the  question  in  another  way.  Suppose  I  were  to  sing  a  line  of  text 
with  a  meaning  in  my  voice  that  contradicted  the  idea  of  the  words.  Would 
not  that  be  nonsense?  It  would  be  as  much  as  though  I  were  to  say  to  you 
"This  wood  is  hard,"  aud  were  to  say  it  with  a  soft  voice.  People  have  ob- 
served that  I  sing  as  though  I  were  talking.  Well,  that  is  just  what  I  meaa 
to  do. 

"Singing,  then"  (the  interviewer  goes  on),  "as  Caruso 
began  to  define  it,  is  a  sort  of  exalted  speech,  its  pur- 
pose being  to  illuminate  the  imagery  and  sentiment  of 
language.  The  mere  music  of  singing  he  seemed  for  the 
moment  to  put  in  a  subordinate  place. 

"By  way  of  further  emphasizing  his  point,  he  referred 
to  a  theme  in  Donizetti's  VElisir  d'Amore,  which  is 
used  in  two  opposing  situations — by  the  soprano  in  a 
mood  of  joy,  and  by  the  tenor  in  a  mood  of  sorrow.  He 
sang  the  measures  of  the  soprano  as  though  laughing. 
Then  he  sang  those  of  the  tenor  as  though  weeping." 

"But  those  two  passages  of  melody  cannot  be  identical,"  objected  the 
interviewer. 

"  Oh,  yes,  they  are,"  the  tenor  declared ;  and  he  quickly  proved  it  by  singing 
them  over  again  with  a  less  marked  indication  of  the  moods.      "Here  you 


INTERPRETATION  IN  CONDUCTING  45 

plainly  see  where  expression  must  start.  It  has  to  be  from  the  words,  of 
course.  The  performer  puts  in  the  feeling  of  gladness  or  sadness  without 
regard  to  the  notes,  paying  attention  only  to  the  text." 

Expression  in  choral  music  is  dependent  upon  the  text 
to  just  as  great  an  extent  as  in  the  case  of  solo  singing; 
and  choral  conductors  may  well  ponder  upon  the  above 
words  of  one  of  the  world's  greatest  singers,  and  apply 
the  lesson  to  their  own  problems.  The  average  audience 
is  probably  more  interested  in  the  words  of  vocal  music 
than  in  anything  else;  and  since  both  vocal  and  choral 
performances  are  usually  given  before  "average  audi- 
ences" it  behooves  the  conductor  to  look  into  the  minds 
of  those  before  whom  he  is  directing,  and  to  adapt  the 
performance  to  the  attitude  of  the  listeners. 


CHAPTER  V 

Interpretation  in  Conducting 

(Continued) 

TEMPO 

EXPRESvSION  IN  In  the  last  chapter  we  discussed  expres- 
INSTRUMENTAL  gj^j^  ^J^^  interpretation  from  a  general 
standpoint,  closing  with  certain  com- 
ments upon  the  interpretation  of  vocal  music.  But  it 
must  be  admitted  at  once  that  expression  in  instrumental 
music  is  a  vastly  more  intricate  matter  than  in  the  case 
of  vocal  music;  and  in  order  to  get  at  the  subject  in  any 
tangible  way,  it  will  be  necessary  for  us,  first,  to  analyze 
music  into  its  expressional  elements;  second,  to  decide 
which  of  these  elements  belong  exclusively  to  the  com- 
poser and  which  are  shared  by  the  interpreter;  and  third, 
to  examine  each  of  these  latter  elements  in  turn  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  conductor  as  interpreter. 

THE  ELEMENTS     There  are  eight  elements  upon  which 
OF  EXPRESSION     expression  in  instrumental  music  rests. 
These  are: 

1.  Rhythm  3.  Harmony  5.  Timbre  7.  Tempo 

2.  Melody  4.  Pitch  registers  6.  Phrasing  8.  Dynamics 

Of  these,  the  composer  is  able  to  indicate  exactly  the 
first  four,  to  convey  his  meaning  fairly  well  in  the  fifth 
and  sixth,  but  .to  give  only  a  relative  idea  of  the  seventh 
and  eighth.  The  interpreter  is  thus  concerned  with  the 
first  four  only  as  it  becomes  necessary  for  him  to  find 
out  from  the  notation  what  the  composer  intended  to 


TEMPO  47 

express.  On  the  other  hand,  he  is  considerably  con- 
cerned with  the  fifth  and  sixth  factors  {timbre  and  phras- 
ing) and  has  the  main  responsibility  in  the  last  two 
{tempo  and  dynamics).  This  being  the  case,  we  shall 
treat  tempo  and , dynamics  first  of  all,  as  being  the  two 
primary  factors  of  expression  with  which  the  conductor 
is  concerned. 

IMPORTANCE  Wagner,  in  his  famous  essay  on  con- 
OF  TEMPO  ducting,  takes  the  rather  radical  ground 
that  everything  else  is  dependent  upon 
the  proper  selection  and  management  of  tempo.  He 
says  :* 

The  whole  duty  of  the  conductor  is  comprised  in  his  ability  always  to  indi- 
cate the  right  tempo.  His  choice  of  tempi  will  show  whether  he  understands 
the  piece  or  not  .  .  .     The  true  tempo  induces  correct  force  and  expression. 

In  another  place  in  the  same  work  he  treats  the  matter 
further,  as  follows:     (p.  34) 

Obviously  the  proper  pace  of  a  piece  of  music  is  determined  by  the  particu- 
lar character  of  the  rendering  it  requires.  The  question  therefore  comes  to 
this:  Does  the  sustained,  the  cantilena,  predominate,  or  the  rhythmical  move- 
ment.''    The  conductor  should  lead  accordingly. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  many  modem  conductors  would 
entirely  agree  with  Wagner's  statement  that  correct 
tempo  always  "induces  correct  force  and  expression." 
Nevertheless  tempo  is  so  important  that  probably  no 
one  will  quarrel  with  us  if  we  at  least  give  it  first  place 
in  the  order  in  which  the  elements  of  expression  are 
discussed. 

In  modem  music  the  composer  indicates  the  tempos 
of  the  various  movements  much  more  definitely  than 
was  true  in  earlier  days,  so  it  would  seem  as  if  not  nearly 
so  much  responsibility  rested  upon  the  conductor;  and 
yet  there  is  still  a  wide  difference  of  opinion  among 
musicians  about  the  matter,  and  in  many  cases  the 

*  Wagner,  On  CondueHnn,  translated  by  Dannreutber,  p.  20.     * 


48  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

conductor  substitutes  his  own  judgment  for  that  of  the 
composer,  assuming  that  the  latter  either  made  a  mis- 
take in  indicating  the  tempo,  or  else  that  he  had  not 
tried  the  composition  at  the  tempo  preferred  by  the 
conductor,  and  therefore  did  not  realize  how  much  more 
effective  it  would  be  that  way. 

FINDING  THE  In  the  main,  there  are  five  methods 

CORRECT  TEMPO     ^p^jj  which  the  conductor  depends  for 
determining  the    correct  tempo  of  a 
composition.    These  are: 

1.  The  metronome  indication,  found  at  the  beginning  of  most  modem 
scores. 

2.  The  tempo  or  mood  expressions  (ondan<e,aWcfir»'o,arfagrio,  etcetera),  which 
have  been  in  universal  use  for  two  centuries  or  more,  and  which  are  found  in 
practically  all  music,  even  when  a  metronome  indication  is  also  given. 

3.  The  swing  and,  in  vocal  music,  the  general  spirit  of  the  text. 

4.  Tradition. 

5.  Individual  judgment  of  tempo  as  depending  upon  and  resulting  from 
the  "quality"  of  the  music. 

Of  these,  the  fifth,  viz.,  individual  judgment  is  most 
important,  and  is  the  court  of  final  resort  in  the  case  of 
the  mature  musician;  but  the  amateur  who  has  had  but 
little  experience  and  who  is  therefore  without  any  well 
developed  musical  taste  must  depend  largely  upon  his 
metronome,  upon  his  knowledge  of  Italian  tempo  terms, 
and  upon  tradition.  A  brief  discussion  of  these  matters 
will  accordingly  be  in  order  at  this  time. 

THE  METRONOME  The  metronome*  is  a  sort  of  clock 
AS  A  TEMPO  with  inverted  pendulum,  the  ticks  or 

clicks  of  which  can  be  regulated  as  to 
rate  of  speed  by  means  of  a  sliding  weight.  When  this  weight 
is  set  at  the  point  marked  64,  for  example,  the  metronome 

*  The  metronome  is  supposed  to  have  been  invented,  or  at  least  perfected,  by  a  Bava- 
rian named  Maelzel,  about  ISLS,  and  for  many  years  the  Maelzel  metronome  was  the 
only  one  in  existence.  Hence  the  letters  M.M.,  still  found  in  many  scores,  in  connection 
with  tempo  indications. 


TEMPO  49 

gives  sixty -four  clicks  per  minute;  when  set  at  84,  or 
112,  corresponding  numbers  of  clicks  per  minute  re- 
sult; so  that  in  this  way  the  composer  is  able  to  indicate 
precisely  the  rate  of  speed  of  his  composition  by  indicat- 
ing the  number  of  beats  per  minute.  The  indication 
J  =  84  means  that  the  sliding  weight  is  to  be  set  at  the 
point  marked  84,  the  metronome  then  chcking  eighty- 
four  times  per  minute,  each  of  these  chcks  indicating  a 
quarter-note.  But  if  the  marking  is  J  =  64,  this  means 
that  sixty-four  half-notes  are  to  be  performed  in  a  min- 
ute,— a  tempo  equal  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
quarter-notes  in  the  same  composition.  In  compound 
measures  such  as  6-8,  9-8,  et  cetera,  the  tempo  indication 
shows  the  number  of  eighth-notes  per  minute  if  the 
composition  is  in  slow  tempo;  but  in  moderate  and  rapid 
tempos  the  direction  is  usually  given  by  taking  the 
dotted-quarter-note  as  the  beat  unit,  thus:  J.  =  84.  It 
is  of  course  obvious  that  in  this  case  the  composer  is 
thinking  of  each  measure  as  having  only  two  or  three 
beats  instead  of  six  or  nine. 

THE  ITALIAN  Many  instrumental  compositions  (par- 
TEMPO  TERMS  ticularly  the  older  ones)  are  not  provided 
by  the  composer  with  definite  tempo 
directions;  and  in  this  case  the  Italian  tempo  terms 
usually  give  at  least  a  clue  to  what  the  composer  has  in 
mind.  These  terms  do  not  of  course  give  us  the  precise 
tempo,  but  by  indicating  the  mood  of  a  composition 
they  at  least  help  one  to  determine  the  rate  of  speed 
{adagio — at  ease;  allegro — cheerful;  largo — large,  broad; 
andante — going;  et  cetera) .  A  comprehensive  knowledge 
of  these  terms  from  the  twofold  standpoint  of  definition 
and  derivation  is  indispensable  to  the  conductor.  The 
most  common  of  them  are  therefore  defined  at  this 
point.  They  are  given  in  groups  in  order  that  the  stu- 
dent may  note  how  much  the  various  terms  overlap  in 
meaning. 


50  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

The  Very  Slowest  Tempo 

larghissimo  (superlative  of  largo) 
adagissimo  (superlative  of  adagio) 
lentissimo  (superlative  of  lento) 

A  Very  Slow  Tempo 

largo  (from  Latin  largus,  meaning  broad,  large) 
adagio  (at  ease) 
lento  (slow) 

A  Slow  Tempo 

larghetto  (diminutive  of  largo) 
adagietto  (diminutive  of  adagio) 

A  Moderately  Slow  Tempo 
andante  (going  or  walking) 

andantino  (diminutive  of  andante  and  therefore  meaning  literally  "going 
less,"  but  because  of  a  misconception  of  meaning  now  often  under 
stood  as  meaning  slightly  faster  than  andante) 

A  Moderate  Tempo 
moderaio 

A  Moderately  Rapid  Tempo 
allegro  (cheerful) 
allegretto  (diminutive  of  allegro;  a  little  slower  than  allegro) 

A  Very  Rapid  Tempo 

con  moto  (with  motion) 

vivo  (lively) 

vivace  (vivacious) 

presto  (quick) 

presto  assai  (very  quick) 

The  Most  Rapid  Tempo  Possible 
prestissimo  (superlative  of  presto) 
vivacissimo  (supjerlative  of  vivace) 
aUegrissimo  (superlative  of  allegro) 
prestissimo  possibile  (hypersuperlative  of  presto) 

The  expressions  given  above  are  frequently  used  in 
combination  with  one  another,  and  with  certain  auxiUary 
terms,  but  to  attempt  to  define  these  combinations  in 


TEMPO  51 

this  book  would  be  altogether  impracticable.  The  con- 
ductor should  however  understand  the  significance  of 
the  following  qualifying  expressions: 

non  tanlo  (not  too  much) 

non  troppo  (not  too  much) 

ma  non  tanto  (but  not  too  much) 

ma  non  tropjw  (but  not  too  much) 

These  expressions  are  used  by  the  composer  as  a  warn- 
ing to  the  performer  not  to  overdo  any  indicated  effect. 
Thus,  largo,  ma  non  troppo  means  that  the  composition 
is  to  be  taken  slowly,  but  not  too  slowly.  Presto  {ma) 
non  troppo,  on  the  other  hand,  indicates  a  rapid  tempo, 
but  not  too  rapid.  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  these  mat- 
ters, see  the  author's  text  book  on  terminology.* 

The  third  means  of  finding  tempo  has  already  been 
discussed,  (see  p.  45)  and  the  fifth  needs  no  further 
explanation;  but  a  word  should  perhaps  be  said  to  the 
amateur  about  the  matter  of  tradition.  The  young 
conductor  must  not  fail  to  take  into  consideration 
the  fact  that  there  has  grown  up,  in  connection  with 
many  of  the  classics,  a  well  defined  idea  of  the  tempos 
most  appropriate  to  their  rendition,  and  that  any 
pronounced  departure  from  this  traditional  tempo  is  apt 
to  result  in  unfavorable  criticism.  Tradition  is  of  course 
apt  to  make  us  hide-bound  in  all  sorts  of  ways,  and 
yet  in  many  respects  it  is  a  very  good  thing,  and  before 
our  conductor  attempts  to  direct  standard  works  it  will 
be  well  for  him  to  hear  them  rendered  by  some  of  the 
better  organizations,  so  that  he  may  ascertain  what 
the  traditional  tempo  is.  In  this  way  he  may  at  least 
avoid  the  accusation  of  ignorance  which  might  other- 
wise be  made.  This  latter  point  will  remind  the  reader 
of  the  advice  already  so  frequently  given — viz.,  "study 
music  and  listen  to  music  a  long  time  before  you  attempt 
very  much  conducting." 

*Gehrkeii8,  Music  NoUUion  and  Terminology.     The  A.  S.  Barnes  Co.,  New  York. 


52  ESSENTIALS  IN   CONDl/CTING 

VARIATION  Our  treatment  of  tempo  thus  far  has  taken 
IN  TEMPO  cognizance  of  only  the  generahzed  tempo  of 
the  movement,  and  we  have  not  discussed 
at  all  the  much  more  diflBcult  matter  of  variation  in 
tempo.  The  more  evident  changes  of  this  sort  are  in- 
dicated by  the  composer  through  such  expressions  as 
ritardando,  accelerando,  et  cetera;  and  it  may  be  well  to 
give  at  this  point  a  list  of  the  commoner  of  these  terms 
together  with  their  meanings.  Obviously,  such  indica- 
tions are  of  two  general  types  dealing  respectively  with 
increasing  and  decreasing  speed,  and  we  shall  accordingly 
give  the  definitions  in  two  classes: 

Terms  Indicating  a  More  Rapid  Tempo 
1.     A  gradual  acceleration 
accelerando 
affrettando 
stringendo 
poco  a  poco  animato 

i.     A  definitely  faster  tempo  at  once 
piii  allegro 
piU  presto 

pin,  animato  , 

piU  mosso 
piii  tosto 
piU  stretto 
un  poco  animato 

Terms  Indicating  a  Slower  Tempo 

1.  A  gradual  retard 
ritardando 
rallentando 
slentando 

2.  A  definitely  slower  tempo  at  once 
pill  lento 

meno  mosso 
rUenuto 

3.  A  slower  tempo  combined  with  an  increase  in  power 

..  ,   >  (literally,  "becoming  broad") 


TEMPO  83 

4.     A  slower  tempo  combined  with  a  decrease  in  power 
morenda     | 
perdendo    \ 

perdendosi}   (Usually  translated,  "gradually  dying  away") 
ccdando 
smorsandoj 

(After  any  of  the  terms  in  the  above  list,  a  return  to  the  normal  tempo  is 
indicated  by  such  expressions  as  a  tempo,  tempo  primo,  et  cetera.) 

TEMPO  But  in  addition  to  the  variations  in  tempo 

NUANCES  more  or  less  definitely  indicated  by  the  com- 
poser there  are  (particularly  in  modern 
music)  innumerable  tempo  fluctuations  of  a  much  sub- 
tler nature;  and  since  these  are  now  recognized  as  a  part 
of  really  artistic  choral  and  orchestral  interpretation, 
(as  they  have  long  formed  an  indispensable  element  in 
expressive  piano  performance)  a  brief  discussion  of 
their  nature  will  be  included  before  closing  this  chapter. 
In  some  cases  a  variable  tempo  is  asked  for  by  the 
composer  by  means  of  one  of  the  following  expressions: 

tempo  rubato  (literally,  "robbed  time") 

ad  libitum  (at  pleasure)         , 

a  piacere  (at  pleasure) 

a  capriccio  (at  the  caprice) 

agitato  (agitated) 

(The  term  tempo  giusto — in  exact  tempo — is  the  opposite  of  the  above 
expressions,  and  is  used  to  indicate  that  the  music  is  to  be  performed  in 
steady  tempo.) 

In  the  majority  of  cases,  however,  the  composer  gives 
no  indication  whatsoever,  and  the  whole  responsibility 
therefore  rests  upon  the  performer  or  conductor.  It  is 
because  of  this  latter  fact  that  the  amateur  must  study 
these  matters  indefatigably.  The  advent  of  a  more 
elastic  rhythm  and  tempo  has  undoubtedly  made  all 
musical  performance  infinitely  more  pleasurable  to  the 
listener  than  it  formerly  was;  but  unfortunately  (es- 
pecially since  the  advent  of  Chopin's  music)  there  has 


64  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

been  a  great  deal  of  misunderstanding  as  to  the  use  and 
meaning  of  this  valuable  new  expressional  element. 

Tempo  ruhato  may  be  compared  to  speaking  certain 
words  more  slowly  or  more  rapidly  in  order  that  the 
essential  meaning  of  the  entire  sentence  may  be  more 
strongly  impressed  upon  the  listener.  It  must  not  how- 
ever break  up  the  continuity  of  the  tempo;  as  one  writer 
has  said  "we  must  bend  the  tempo,  but  not  break  it." 
Another  well-known  author,  in  treating  the  same  point, 
states  that* 

Freedom  in  tempo  does  not  mean  unsteadiness.  .  .  .  We  must  have  in 
music  the  sense  of  equilibrium,  of  stability.  A  careless,  spasmodic  hurrying 
and  retarding  leads  only  to  flabbiness  and  inconsequence. 

The  most  common  kind  of  ruhato  is  probably  that  in 
which  the  first  part  of  the  phrase  (up  to  the  climax)  is 
accelerated,  the  climacteric  tone  lingered  upon  slightly, 
then  the  remainder  of  the  phrase  rendered  a  tempo  or 
possibly  slightly  ritardando.  But  there  are  many  phrases 
that  demand  a  totally  different  sort  of  treatment;  e.g., 
a  ritardando  in  the  first  part  instead  of  an  accelerando. 
Which  is  the  appropriate  way  of  delivering  any  particu- 
lar phrase  must  be  determined  in  every  case  by  musical 
feeling. 

The  thing  that  the  beginner  is  apt  to  forget  at  the 
period  when  his  musical  feeling  though  sincere  is  yet 
characterized  by  lack  of  refinement,  is  that  these  nuances 
must  always  be  subtle,  and  that  the  listener  ought  not 
to  have  fluctuations  in  tempo  thrust  in  his  face  at  every 
turn.  Indeed  we  may  say  that  he  should  hardly  know 
that  they  are  present,  unless  he  is  making  a  definite 
attempt  to  analyze  the  performance.  The  familiar 
story  of  Chopin's  breathing  toward  a  candle  flame  and 
making  it  flicker  slightly,  with  the  remark,  "That  is  my 
rubato,"  then  blowing  it  violently  out  and  saying  "This 
is  yours,"  is  quite  to  the  point  in  this  connection. 

*  Dickinson,  The  Education  oj  a  Music  Loner,  p.  21. 


TEMPO  55 

It  is  of  course  understood  that  rubato  is  to  be  employed 
almost  exclusively  in  moderate  or  slow  tempos,  having 
little  or  no  place  in  rapid,  strongly  rhythmic  music.  It 
should  also  be  remarked  that  the  more  severe  the  form 
of  the  music, — the  more  architectonic  it  is — the  less 
variation  in  tempo  should  there  be  in  its  rendition,  for  in 
this  type  of  music  the  expression  is  primarily  intellectual. 
Such  instrumental  works  (of  which  certain  compositions 
of  Bach  and  Mozart  are  typical)  must  not  be  played 
sentimentally,  as  a  modern  English  writer  has  remarked, 
and  yet  they  must  be  played  with  sentiment.  The  re- 
marks of  this  same  author  may  well  be  quoted  in  closing 
this  discussion:* 

Rubato  is  necessary  in  emotional  music  and  is  an  excellent  means  of  pic- 
turing longing,  persuading,  dreaming,  et  cetera.  That  is  why  its  use  is  so  character- 
istic in  performing  the  works  of  the  romantic  school  and  why  it  must  be  used 
with  such  caution  in  the  classics.  The  classic  must  be  clear  as  daylight — the 
structure  must  be  evident  even  on  the  surface;  but  the  romantic  composition 
needs  often  to  be  played  in  a  veiled  manner  in  order  to  produce  atmosphere. 
In  such  a  case  the  rhythm  is  veiled  as  it  were,  draped  in  gauze,  but  the  rhythmic 
design  is  there  under  the  veil  just  the  same.  To  express  calmness,  decision, 
et  cetera,  avoid  rubato. 

It  must  now  be  evident  to  the  reader  that  this  whole 
matter  of  musical  nuance  is  too  subtle  to  be  treated 
adequately  in  a  book  of  this  character,  and  it  becomes 
necessary  for  us  once  more  to  advise  the  amateur  to 
study  music,  both  vocal  and  instrumental,  in  order  that 
his  latent  musical  feeling  may  be  developed  into  a  ripe 
and  adequate  musical  taste. 

TEMPO  RECORDED     In  concluding  the  chapter  let  us  em- 
IN  MUSCLES  phasize  the  fact  that  the  estabUshing 

of  a  tempo  is  a  matter  of  muscle  even 
more  than  of  mind,  and  that  before  beginning  to  beat 
time  the  conductor  should  have  the  tempo  recorded  in 
his  muscular  memory.    Before  rising  to  conduct  a  com- 

*  Mattbay,  Musical  Inlerprelation,  p.  88. 


56  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

position  then  let  him  feel  its  tempo  in  the  muscles  of 
the  arm  and  hand  wielding  the  baton;  for  if  not  thus 
felt,  the  work  will  rarely  be  begun  with  a  clearly  defined 
rate  of  speed.  This  consideration  receives  added  weight 
when  it  is  recalled  that  if  the  conductor  does  not  set 
the  tempo,  the  chorus  accompanist  or  first  violinist  will, 
and  they,  not  having  studied  the  music  from  this  stand- 
point, will  rarely  succeed  in  hitting  upon  the  correct 
rate  of  movement. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Interpretation  in  Conducting 
(Continued) 

DYNAMICS 

IMPORTANCE  Another  important  factor  in  the  express- 
OF  DYNAMICS  jyg  rendition  of  music  is  dynamics,  i.e., 
the  relative  loudness  and  softness  of  tone. 
The  composer  is  supposed  to  have  a  fairly  large  share 
in  this  phase  of  expression,  and  in  modem  music 
always  indicates  in  the  score  at  least  the  most  important 
dynamic  changes  that  he  has  in  mind.  But  our  ob- 
servation of  musical  performances  tends  to  make  us 
feel  that  in  this  aspect,  even  more  than  in  tempo  changes, 
it  is  the  conductor  or  performer  who  must  bear  the  greater 
responsibility,  and  that  the  amount  of  dynamic  con- 
trast to  be  employed  certainly  depends  entirely  upon 
the  taste  of  the  conductor  or  performer. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  dynamic  factor  is  easier  to  con- 
trol than  is  the  tempo,  and  yet  in  spite  of  this  fact,  there 
is  no  question  but  that  the  rendition  of  most  choral  and 
orchestral  music  could  be  made  much  more  interesting 
if  it  could  be  given  with  a  greater  variety  of  dynamic 
shading.  Nor  is  there,  in  our  opinion,  any  question  but 
that  the  changes  from  forte  to  piano  and  vice  versa,  the 
gradually  worked  up  crescendos,  the  vigorous  accents  on 
certain  important  tones  or  chords,  together  with  those 
subtler  shadings  often  referrred  to  as  dynamic  nuances, 
may  become  just  as  important  and  powerful  a  means  of 
conveying  emotional  effects  as  tempo.    Joy  and  triumph 


58  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

and  exuberance  are  of  course  expressed  by  forte  and 
fortissimo  effects  (the  crowd  at  a  football  game  does  not 
whisper  its  approval  when  its  own  team  has  made  a 
touch-down),  but  the  image  of  a  mother  singing  a 
lullaby  would  demand  altogether  different  dynamic 
treatment. 

The  crescendo  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  means  of 
expression  that  the  composer  has  at  his  disposal — 
especially  in  writing  for  the  modern  orchestra,  but  there 
seems  to  be  a  good  deal  of  misunderstanding  on  the 
part  of  amateur  conductors  and  performers  about  the 
real  meaning  of  the  term.  Crescendo  does  not  mean 
forte;  indeed  Weingartner  {op.  cit.,  p.  6)  quotes  von 
Biilow  as  remarking  that  crescendo  signifies  piano, — 
meaning  of  course  that  a  crescendo  usually  implies  a  soft 
beginning. 

It  should  perhaps  be  noted  at  this  point  that  there  are 
two  varieties  of  crescendo;  one  being  produced  by  perform- 
ing succeeding  tones  each  more  loudly  than  the  one  im- 
mediately  preceding  it;  the  other  by  prolonging  the 
same  tone  and  increasing  its  power  gradually  as  it  con- 
tinues to  sound.  The  first  type  is  much  commoner  than 
the  second,  and  is  indeed  the  one  kind  of  crescendo  that 
is  possible  in  piano  playing;  but  the  second  variety  can 
be  secured  in  the  case  of  an  organ  with  swell  box,  the 
human  voice,  and  in  both  string  and  wind  orchestral 
instruments.  Since  some  of  the  most  beautiful  musical 
effects  may  be  produced  by  the  use  of  this  second  type 
of  crescendo,  it  should  be  employed  very  much  more 
than  it  is  in  choral  and  orchestral  music.  The  English 
conductor  Coward  takes  the  ground  that  the  swell  (a 
combination  of  crescendo  and  diminuendo)  is  the  most 
powerful  choral  effect  in  existence.* 

When  the  composer  wishes  to  build  up  a  really  tre- 
mendous climax  and  sweep  all  before  him  by  the  inten- 
sity of  the  emotional  excitement  generated,  he  frequently 

*  Coward,  Choral  Technique  and  Expression,  p.  112. 


DYNAMICS  59 

indicates  an  increase  in  the  amount  of  tone,  coupled  with 
a  very  gradual  acceleration  in  tempo,  all  proceeding  by 
slow  degrees,  and  perhaps  accompanied  by  a  rise  from 
a  low  pitch  register  to  higher  ones.  If  on  the  other 
hand,  he  wants  to  let  down  in  emotional  intensity, 
he  does  the  opposite  of  all  these  things.  The  combina- 
tion of  crescendo  and  ritardando  is  also  tremendously 
effective. 

In  order  to  bring  together  in  fairly  comprehensive 
array  the  terms  that  are  ordinarily  used  by  the  composer 
to  indicate  various  expressional  effects,  a  table  of  the 
most  frequently  encountered  dynamic  expressions  is  here 
included. 

Pianississimo  (vpv)\  ,         ,  ,  .,  i  x 

.    .  ., .,     >  (as  softly  as  possible) 

pianissimo  possttnle  J 

pianissimo  (pp)  (superlative  of  piano — very  softly) 

piano  (p)  (softly) 

pill  piano  (more  softly) 

il  piit,  piatt)  (most  softly) 

piano  assai  (very  softly) 

mezao-piano  (jnp)  (moderately  softly) 

/orte  (/)  (loudly) 

fortissimo  iff)  (superlative  ol  forte — very  loudly) 

fortississimo  (fff)  (as  loudly  as  possible) 

pi^  forte  (more  loudly) 

U  piO,  forte  (most  loudly) 

il  pill  forte  possibile  (as  loudly  as  possible) 

mezzo  forte  (mf)  (moderately  loudly) 

forte-piano  (fp)  (loudly  followed  immediately  by  softly) 

forzandfo  (s)  1   (These  words  and  signs  indicate  that  a  single  tone 

sforzando  {sf  or  sfz)      or  chord  is  to  be  accented,  the  amount  of  stress  de- 

forzato  (fz)  >  pending  upon  the  character  of  the  passage  and  of 

sforzaio  (sf  or  sfz)     \   the  composition) 

>  or  A  j 

rinforzando  (rinf)  1    (reinforced;    a    definite  increase  in  power  extending 

rinforzato  (rfz)       j  through  a  phrase  or  passage) 

crescendo  {cresc.  or  -=       -  )  (gradually  becoming  louder) 

decrescendo    {decresc.  or  —     -^ 


...  ,    .1-  \        (  (gradually  becoming  softer) 

diminuendo  {dim.  or "  )       J 

crescendo  poco  a  poco  (becoming  louder  little  by  little) 

crescendo  subito  (becoming  louder  immediately) 


60  ESSENTIALS   IN  CONDUCTING 

erescaiCo  mo!:o  (becoming  much  louder) 

crescendo  cljortissimo  (becoming  gradually  louder  until  the  fortissimo  point 

has  been  reached) 

crescendo  vol  diminuendo  1  /       ,     „     ,      ,       ,  ,     „        ,     . 

,        ...  ,        >  (gradually  louder  then  gradually  softer) 

crescendo  e  diminuendo      j    "  ^ 

crescendo  ed  animando  (gradually  louder  and  faster) 

diminuendo  al  pianissimo  (becoming  gradually  softer  until  the  pianissimo 

point  is  reached) 

morendo      ] 

perdendosi  I   (gradually  dying  away,  i.e.,  becoming  slower  and  softer  by 

STnorzando  j  very  small  degrees) 

calando       J 

con  amore  (with  tenderness) 

con  bravura  (with  boldness) 

con  energia  (with  energy) 

con  espressione 


(with  expression) 

espresstvo  J 

con  brio  (with  brilliancy) 

confuoco  (with  fire) 

con  passione  (with  passion) 

con  grazia  (with  grace) 

con  tenerezza  (with  tenderness) 

dolce  (gently)  (literally,  sweetly) 

giocoso  (humorously)  (cf.  jocose) 

giojoso  (joyfully)  (c/.  joyous) 

conmaesta ,  ,      .    ..    „  s 
(majestically) 


maestoso 

pastorale  (in  pastoral,  i.e.,  in  simple  and  unaffected  style) 

pomposo  (pompously) 

scherzando 


scherzoso      J  ^'""^^^^^ 
sotto  voce  (with  subdued  voice) 

We  shall  close  our  discussion  of  the  subject  of  dy- 
namics with  a  brief  presentation  of  a  few  practical 
matters  with  which  every  amateur  conductor  should  be 
familiar. 

The  pianissimo  of  choruses  and  orchestras  is  sel- 
dom soft  enough.  The  extreme  limit  of  soft  tone  is  very 
effective  in  both  choral  and  orchestral  music,  and  most 
conductors  seem  to  have  no  adequate  notion  of  how  soft 
the  tone  may  be  made  in  such  passages.  This  is  es- 
pecially true  of  chorus  music  in  the  church  service;  and 


DYNAMICS  61 

even  the  gospel  singer  Sankey  is  said  to  have  found  that 
the  softest  rather  than  the  loudest  singing  was  spiritually 
the  most  impressive.* 

Pianissimo  singing  or  playing  does  not  imply  a  slower 
tempo,  and  in  working  with  very  soft  passages  the  con- 
ductor must  be  constantly  on  guard  lest  the  performers 
begin  to  "drag."  If  the  same  virile  and  spirited  re- 
sponse is  insisted  upon  in  such  places  as  is  demanded  in 
ordinary  passages,  the  effect  will  be  greatly  improved, 
and  the  singing  moreover  will  not  be  nearly  so  likely  to 
fall  from  the  pitch. 

The  most  important  voice  from  the  standpoint  of 
melody  must  in  some  way  be  made  to  stand  out  above 
the  other  parts.     This  may  be  done  in  two  ways: 

1.  By  making  the  melody  louder  than  the  other  parts. 

2.  By  subduing  the  other  parts  sufficiently  to  make  the  melody  prom- 
inent by  contrast. 

The  second  method  is  frequently  the  better  of- the  two, 
and  should  more  frequently  be  made  use  of  in  ensemble 
music  than  is  now  the  case  in  amateur  performance. 

The  conductor  of  the  Russian  Symphony  Orchestra, 
Modeste  Altschuler,  remarks  on  this  point: 

A  melody  runs  through  every  piece,  like  a  road  through  a  country  hillside. 
The  art  of  conducting  is  to  clear  the  way  for  this  melody,  to  see  that  no  other 
instruments  interfere  with  those  which  are  at  the  moment  enunciating  the 
theme.  It  is  something  like  steering  an  automobile.  When  the  violins,  for 
instance,  have  the  tune,  I  see  to  it  that  nobody  hurries  it  or  drags  it  or  covers  it 
up. 

In  polyphonic  music  containing  imitative  passages, 
the  part  having  the  subject  must  be  louder  than  the 
rest,  especially  at  its  first  entrance.     This  is  of  course 

*  On  the  other  hnnd,  Iho  crilicisni  h;i8  Ikmju  made  in  recent  years  that  certain  orchestral 
conductors  have  not  suflRcieully  taken  into  consideration  the  size  and  acoustics  of  the 
auditoriums  in  which  they  were  conducting,  and  have  made  their  pianissimos  so  soft 
that  notViing  at  all  coul J  be  heard  in  the  hack  of  the  room  In  order  to  satisfy  himself 
that  the  tone  is  as  soft  as  possible,  and  yet  that  it  is  audible,  it  will  be  well  for  the  con- 
ductor to  station  some  one  of  good  judgment  in  the  back  of  the  auditorium  during  the 
concert,  this  person  later  reporting  to  the  conductor  in  some  detail  the  effect  of  the 
performance. 


62  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

merely  a  corollary  of  the  general  proposition  explained 
under  number  three,  above. 

In  vocal  music  the  accent  and  crescendo  marks 
provided  by  the  composer  are  often  intended  merely  to 
indicate  the  proper  pronunciation  of  some  part  of  the 
text.  Often,  too,  they  assist  in  the  declamation  of  the 
text  by  indicating  the  climax  of  the  phrase,  i.e.,  the  point 
of  greatest  emphasis. 

The  dynamic  directions  provided  by  the  composer 
are  intended  to  indicate  only  the  broader  and  more 
obvious  effects,  and  it  will  be  necessary  for  the  performer 
to  introduce  many  changes  not  indicated  in  the  score. 
Professor  Edward  Dickinson,  in  referring  to  this  matter 
in  connection  with  piano  playing,  remarks :  * 

After  all,  it  is  only  the  broader,  more  general  scheme  of  light  and  shade  that 
is  furnished  by  the  composer;  the  finer  gradations,  those  subtle  and  immeasur- 
able modifications  of  dynamic  value  which  make  a  composition  a  palpitating, 
^  coruscating  thing  of  beauty,  are  wholly  under  the  player's  will. 

In  concluding  our  discussion  of  dynamics,  let  us  em- 
phasize again  the  fact  that  all  expression  signs  are  rela- 
tive, never  absolute,  and  that  piano,  crescendo,  sfor- 
zando,  et  cetera,  are  not  intended  to  convey  to  the 
performer  any  definite  degree  of  power.  It  is  because  of 
misunderstanding  with  regard  to  this  point  that  dynamic 
eflFects  are  so  frequently  overdone  by  amateurs,  both 
conductors  and  performers  seeming  to  imagine  that 
every  time  the  word  crescendo  occurs  the  performers  are 
to  bow  or  blow  or  sing  at  the  very  top  of  their  power; 
and  that  sforzando  means  a  violent  accent  approaching 
the  effect  of  a  blast  of  dynamite,  whether  occurring  in 
the  midst  of  a  vigorous,  spirited  movement,  or  in  a  ten- 
der lullaby.  Berlioz,  in  the  treatise  on  conducting  ap- 
pended to  his  monumental  work  on  Orchestration,  says:  f 

A  conductor  often  demands  from  his  players  an  exaggeration  of  the  dynamic 
nuances,  either  in  this  way  to  give  proof  of  his  ardor,  or  because  he  lacks  fine- 

*  Dickinson,  The  Educaiion  of  a  Miuic  Lover,  p.  123. 

t  Berlioz,  A  Trealite  on  Modern  Instrumenlation  and  OrehetlrtUion,  p.  255. 


DYNAMICS  63 

ness  of  musical  perception.  Simple  shadings  then  become  thick  blurs,  ac- 
cents become  passionate  shrieks.  The  effects  intended  by  the  poor  composer 
are  quite  distorted  and  coarsened,  and  the  attempts  of  the  conductor  to  be 
artistic,  however  honest  they  may  be,  remind  us  of  the  tenderness  of  the  ass 
in  the  fable,  who  knocked  his  master  down  in  trying  to  caress  him. 


CHAPTER  VII 

Interpretation  in  Conducting 
(Concluded) 

TIMBRE,    PHRASING,    ETCETERA 

IMPORTANCE  OF      Having  devoted  considerable  space  to 
TIMBRE  IN  discussing  the  two  expressional  ele- 

INTERPRETATION  .      f  u-  u     4-u 

ments  for    which    the    composer    is 

mainly  responsible,  let  lis  now  present  briefly  certain 
matters  connected  with  the  other  six  elements  in  our 
list  (see  p.  46).  The  two  described  as  being  partly 
controlled  by  composer  and  partly  by  the  interpreter 
are  timbre  and  phrasing,  and  we  shall  accordingly 
treat  these  first.  Timbre  or  tone-quality  is  less  im- 
portant than  either  tempo  or  dynamics,  and  is  obvi- 
ously less  under  the  control  of  the  conductor.  The 
vocalist  may  be  induced  to  sing  more  loudly  or  the 
violinist  to  play  more  rapidly,  but  it  is  often  impossible 
to  get  either  to  so  modify  his  actual  tone  quality  as  to 
make  his  rendition  more  expressive.  And  yet,  in  spite 
of  this  difficulty,  there  are  many  passages  in  both 
choral  and  orchestral  music  in  which  the  essential  sig- 
nificance depends  absolutely  upon  beauty  or  ugliness 
or  plaintiveness  or  boldness  of  tone;  and  especially  in 
choral  music  is  it  possible  for  the  conductor  to  induce  his 
chorus  to  bring  out  many  more  such  effects  than  is  usu- 
ally done.  A  positively  ugly  and  raspy  vocal  tone  may 
convey  a  certain  dramatic  effect  that  no  mere  variation 
in  dynamics  is  able  to  bring  about,  an  example  of  this 
being  found  in  the  Chorus  of  People  who  sing  at  various 
points  in  the  cantata  by  Dubois  called  The  Seven  Last 


TIMBRE,  PHRASING,  ETC.  65 

Words  of  Christ.  Another  very  short  passage  of  the  same 
sort  is  found  in  Stainer's  Crucifixioii  in  the  scene  at  the 
cross.  Mr.  Coward  has  written  more  in  detail  upon  this 
point  than  anyone  else,  and  we  may  well  quote  his  dis- 
cussion of  the  topic  "characterization."* 

One  of  the  distinguishing  features  of  modern  chonil  technique  is  what  I 
term  "characterization,"  or  realism  of  the  sentiment  expressed  in  the  music. 
Formerly  this  kind  of  singing  was  tabooed  to  such  an  extent  that  when  in  re- 
hearsals and  at  concerts  I  induced  the  Sheffield  Musical  Union  to  sing  with 
graphic  power  musicians  of  the  old  school  voted  me  a  mad  enthusiast,  ex- 
travagant, theatrical,  ultra,  and  many  other  things  of  the  same  sort.  These 
people  wondered  why  I  wanted  variety  of  tone  color — who  had  ever  heard  of 
such  a  demand  from  a  choir? — and  many  of  my  friends  even  thought  I  was 
demanding  too  much  when,  in  rehearsing  Berlioz's  Faust,  I  asked  for  some- 
thing harder  in  tone  than  the  usual  fluty,  mellifluous  sound  in  order  to  depict 
the  hearty  laugh  of  the  peasants  in  the  first  chorus.  They  were  almost 
scandalized  when  I  asked  for  a  somewhat  raucous,  devil-may-care  carousal, 
tone  in  the  "Auerbach's  Wine-cellar"  scene,  and  when  a  fiendish,  snarling 
utterance  was  called  for  in  the  "Pandemonium"  scene  they  thought  I  was 
mad.  However,  the  performance  settled  all  these  objections.  It  was  seen 
by  contrast  how  ridiculous  it  was  for  a  choir  to  laugh  like  Lord  Dundreary 
with  a  sort  of  throaty  gurgle;  how  inane  it  was  to  depict  wine-cellar  revelry 
with  voices  suggesting  the  sentimental  drawing-room  tenor,  and  how  insipid 
it  was  to  portray  fiendish  glee  within  hell's  portals  with  the  staid  decorum  of  a 
body  of  local  preachers  of  irreproachable  character. 

Of  course  the  battle  in  the  rehearsal  room  had  to  be  fought  sternly  inch  by 
inch,  but  frequent  trials,  approval  of  the  progress  shown,  and  brilliant  success 
at  the  concert  won  the  day.  It  was  so  convincing  that  many  said  they  could 
taste  wine  and  smell  brimstone. 


Contrasts  of  tone-color,  contrasts  of  differently  placed  choirs,  contrasts 
of  sentiment — love,  hate,  hope,  despair,  joy,  sorrow,  brightness,  gloom,  pity, 
scorn,  prayer,  praise,  exaltiition,  depression,  laughter,  and  tears — in  fact  all 
the  emotions  and  passions  are  now  expected  to  be  delineated  by  the  voice 
alone.  It  may  be  said,  in  passing,  that  in  fulfilling  these  expectations  choral 
singing  has  entered  on  a  new  lea.se  of  life.  Instead  of  the  cry  being  raised  that 
the  choral  societies  are  doomed,  we  shall  find  that  by  absorbing  the  elixir  of 
characterization  they  have  renewed  their  youth;  and  when  the  shallow  pleasures 
of  the  picture  theater  and  the  empty  elements  of  the  variety  show  have  been 
discovered  to  be  unsatisfying  to  the  normal  aspirations  of  intellectual,  moral 

♦  Coward,  Choral  Technique  and  Interpretation,  p.  73. 


66  ESSENTIALS   Iff   CONDUCtiNG 

beings,  the  social,  healthful,  stimulating,  intellectual,  moral,  and  spiritual 
uplift  of  the  choral  society  will  be  appreciated  more  than  ever. 


Tender-handed  stroke  a  nettle, 

And  it  stings  you  for  your  pains. 
Grasp  it  like  a  man  of  mettle. 

And  it  soft  as  silk  remains. 

Before  stating  how  to  produce  the  laugh,  the  sob,  the  sigh,  the  snarl,  the 
moan,  bell  effects,  ejaculations  and  "  trick-singing,"  all  of  which  come  under 
the  head  of  characterization,  I  would  say  that  if  an  ultra  thing  is  undertaken 
it  must  be  done  boldly.  The  spirit  of  the  old  rhyme  above  quoted  must  be 
acted  upon,  or  fear  will  paralyze  the  efforts  put  forth,  and  failure  will  be  the 
result.  In  choral  singing,  as  in  other  things,  the  masculinity  of  the  doing, 
the  boldness,  the  daring,  the  very  audacity  with  which  an  extreme  effect  is 
produced,  carries  success  with  it.  Therefore  do  not  attempt  a  daring  thing 
feebly  or  by  halves. 

TIMBRE  IN  In  instrumental  music,  timbre  is  also  a 

INSTRUMENTAL  highly  potent  influence  in  arousing  emo- 
tional states,  and  we  are  all  familiar 
with  the  fact  that  an  oboe  passage  is  often  associated 
with  the  simplicity  of  outdoor  rural  life;  that  a  melody 
for  English  horn  has  somehow  become  connected  with 
mournful  thoughts;  the  sound  of  trumpets,  with  martial 
ideas;  and  the  grunting  of  the  lower  register  of  the  bas- 
soon, with  comic  effects.  It  is  well  known,  also,  that  the 
skilful  violinist  can  cause  his  instrument  to  sound  an 
infinite  variety  of  shades  of  color.  But  these  means  of 
expression  are  almost  wholly  under  the  control  of  the 
individual  players  and  of  the  composer  (as  orchestrator), 
and  cannot  therefore  be  profitably  discussed  in  a  work 
on  conducting. 

PHRASING  The  phrase  in  music  is  very  siinilar  to  the 
phrase  in  language.  In  both  cases,  it  is  a 
thought  (usually  incomplete  and  forming  a  part  of  some 
larger  idea)  which  must  be  slightly  separated  from  the 
preceding  and  following  phrases,  that  it  may  be  correctly 


TIMBRE,   PHRASING,   ETC.  67 

understood;  yet  must  be  so  rendered  in  relation  to  the 
neighboring  material  as  to  seem  an  integral  part  of  the 
whole.  In  addition,  it  is  of  course  necessary  to  empha- 
size the  important  words  in  a  language  phrase  and  the 
most  significant  tones  in  a  musical  one,  as  well  as  to 
subordinate  the  comparatively  unimportant  parts,  in 
such  a  way  that  the  real  significance  of  the  whole  may 
be  clear.  Phrasing  is  thus  readily  seen  to  be  an  ex- 
tremely important  factor  in  the  expressive  reading  of 
language,  since  one  could  scarcely  interpret  intelligibly 
if  he  did  not  first  of  all  read  as  a  group  the  words  that 
belong  together  as  a  thought;  and  one  could  certainly 
not  convey  the  correct  idea  of  the  group  to  a  listener  if 
the  most  important  words  in  it  were  not  stressed  so  as 
to  stand  out  more  vividly  than  the  others.  Although 
not  so  readily  understood  because  of  the  absence  of 
symbolism,  phrasing  is  quite  as  important  an  element 
in  the  expressive  rendition  of  music  as  it  is  in  the  case 
of  language.  In  order  to  interpret  properly  the  conduc- 
tor must  first  of  all  determine  what  tones  belong  together 
in  a  group ;  must  make  the  individuality  of  these  groups 
evident  by  slightly  separating  them,  but  usually  not  to 
the  degree  of  disturbing  the  basic  rhythmic  flow;  and 
must  so  manage  the  dynamics  and  tempo  of  each  phrase 
as  to  make  its  content  clear  to  the  listener.  Many 
phrases  are  so  constructed  that  their  proper  delivery 
involves  a  gradual  crescendo  up  to  the  climax  (usually  the 
highest  tone)  and  a  corresponding  diminuendo  from  this 
point  to  the  end  of  the  phrase. 

PHRASING  IN  In  vocal  music,  the  matter  of  phrasing  is 
VOCAL  MUSIC  comparatively  simple  because  here  the 
composer  has,  in  general,  adapted  the 
melody  to  the  phrasing  of  the  text ;  and  since  in  language 
we  have  definite  ideas  and  concrete  imagery  to  assist  us, 
all  that  we  usually  need  to  do  in  studying  the  phrasing 
of  vocal  music  is  to  follow  carefully  the  phrasing  of  the 


68  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

text.  But  even  then  a  warning  ought  perhaps  to  be 
given  the  young  conductor  regarding  carelessness  or 
ignorance  on  the  part  of  singers  about  some  of  the  most 
fundamental  principles  of  phrasing.  The  most  common 
mistakes  made  are: 

1.  Taking  breath  unnecessarily  in  the  middle  of  a  phrase. 

2.  Breathing  between  the  syllables  of  a  word. 

3.  Dividing  a  long  phrase  improperly. 

4.  Running  over  breathing  places  where  a  pause  is  really  necessary  in 
order  to  bring  out  the  meaning  of  the  text. 

5.  Pronouncing  the  unaccented  syllable  of  a  word  at  the  end  of  a  phrase 
with  too  much  stress. 

6.  Failing  to  stress  the  climax  sufficiently. 

Mistakes  of  this  kind  are  made  because  the  singer  all  too 
frequently  fails  to  recognize  the  fact  that  the  inter- 
pretation of  vocal  music  must  be  based  upon  the  meaning 
of  the  text  rather  than  upon  purely  musical  considera- 
tions (cf.  quotation  from  Caruso  on  page  44). 

A  comma  or  rest  ordinarily  indicates  the  end  of  a 
phrase  in  vocal  music.  If,  however,  the  phrase  as  marked 
is  too  long  to  be  taken  in  one  breath,  the  conductor 
should  study  it  carefully  for  some  point  in  it  where 
another  breath  may  be  taken  without  too  greatly  mar- 
ring the  continuity  of  the  text.  Sometimes  in  a  large 
chorus  various  sections  of  a  division  may  take  breath 
at  different  points,  thus  preserving  the  integrity  of  the 
phrase  in  certain  cases  where  this  is  particularly  desir- 
able. It  should  be  noted  that  when  a  breath  is  taken  in 
the  middle  of  a  phrase  or  between  the  phrases  where  no 
rest  occurs,  the  time  for  breathing  must  always  be  taken 
from  the  last  note  of  the  preceding  phrase,  in  order  that 
the  continuity  of  the  rhythm  may  not  be  sacrificed. 

The  importance  of  studying  phrasing  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  effective  rendition  of  sacred  music  will  be 
realized  more  vividly  if  one  takes  the  trouble  to  inquire 
of  some  of  the  members  of  the  congregation  how  well 
they  understood  the  words  of  the  anthem  or  solo.    The 


TIMBRE,  PHRASING,  ETC.  69 

replies  that  will  ordinarily  be  given  to  such  a  question 
will  probably  astonish  the  director  of  the  church  choir; 
and  although  he  will  sometimes  be  inclined  to  put  the 
blame  on  the  ears  and  minds  of  the  congregation,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  in  very  many  cases  the  difficulty  may 
be  traced  to  poor  enunciation  and  faulty  phrasing  on  the 
part  of  the  singers.  The  following  examples  are  reported 
to  be  authentic  instances  of  phrasing  by  church  choirs: 

Jesus  lives  no  longer  now, 

Can  thy  terrors.  Death,  appall  us? 

The  poet  had  quite  a  different  thought  in  mind  when 
he  penned  these  words,  with  the  correct  punctuation 
marks : 

Jesus  lives!  no  longer  now 

Can  thy  terrors.  Death,  appall  us! 

The  wild  winds  hushed  the  angry  deep. 
Sank  like  a  little  child  to  sleep. 

What  this  verse  means  is,  of  course,  easily  seen  by 
inserting  the  correct  punctuation  marks: 

The  wild  winds  hushed;  the  angry  deep 
Sank  like  a  little  child  to  sleep. 

PHRASING  IN  In  instrumental  music  we  have  no  defi- 
INSTRUMENTAL  j^j^^^  ideas  and  no  concrete  imagery  to 
guide  us;  and  the  conductor,  in  company 
with  all  other  students  of  instrumental  music,  will  find 
it  necessary  to  study  his  score  most  carefully  if  he  is  to 
unravel  the  threads  that  are  woven  together  in  such 
complex  fashion  in  orchestral  music.  As  implied  above, 
phrasing  in  instrumental  music  means: 

1.  The  grouping  together  of  tones  that  belong  to  llie  same  musical 
thought,  this  implying  a  slight  break  in  continuity  between  phrases,  as  in 
language. 

2.  Making  evident  the  musical  significance  of  the  group  by  accenting  or 
prolonging  its  most  important  tones. 


70  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

These  are  only  general  principles,  however,  and  the 
details  of  phrasing  in  instrumental  music  cannot  be 
treated  adequately  in  writing  because  of  their  too  great 
complexity.  It  is  only  through  practice,  reinforced  by 
the  intelligent  criticism  of  a  real  musician,  that  skill 
and  taste  in  the  art  of  phrasing  can  be  acquired.  A  few 
concrete  suggestions  are  offered,  and  these  may  be  of 
some  slight  help  to  the  amateur,  but  they  are  not  to  be 
thought  of  as  "a  complete  guide." 

1.  The  first  tone  of  the  phrase  is  often  stressed  slightly  in  order  to  mark 
the  beginning  of  the  new  idea. 

2.  The  final  tone  (particularly  of  the  short  phrase)  is  commonly  shortened 
in  order  to  make  clear  the  separation  between  phrases. 

3.  The  climacteric  tone  of  the  phrase  is  often  prolonged  slightly  as  well  as 
accented,  in  order  to  make  its  relationship  to  the  other  tones  stand  out  clearly. 

RHYTHM  Closely  connected  with  phrasing  is  rhythm, 
and  although  the  rhythmic  factor  should  per- 
haps theoretically  belong  wholly  to  the  composer,  since 
he  is  able  to  express  his  rhythmic  ideas  in  definite  nota- 
tion, yet  in  actual  practice  this  does  not  prove  to  be  the 
case  because  the  amateur  player  or  singer  so  often  finds 
that  "time  is  hard";  and  there  are  consequently  many 
occasions  when  the  rhythm  indicated  by  the  composer  is 
wholly  distorted,  either  because  the  performers  are  weak 
in  their  rhythmic  feeling  or  because  the  conductor  is 
careless  and  does  not  see  to  it  that  the  rhythmic  response 
of  his  chorus  or  orchestra  is  accurate  and  incisive  and 
yet  elastic. 

Rhythm  is  the  oldest  of  the  musical  elements  and  there 
is  no  question  but  that  the  rhythmic  appeal  is  still  the 
strongest  of  all  for  the  majority  of  people.  Rhythm  is 
the  spark  of  life  in  music,  therefore,  woe  to  the  composer 
who  attempts  to  substitute  ethereal  harmonies  for  virile 
rhythms  as  a  general  principle  of  musical  construction. 
Mere  tones,  even  though  beautiful  both  in  themselves 
and   through   effective   combination,   are   meaningless, 


TIMBRE,  PHRASING,  ETC.  71 

and  it  is  only  through  rhythm  that  they  become  vital- 
ized. In  order  to  have  interesting  performances  of 
choral  and  orchestral  music  the  conductor  must  see  to  it 
that  the  performers  play  or  sing  all  rhythmic  figures 
correctly,  that  long  tones  are  sustained  for  their  correct 
duration,  and  that  in  general  the  musical  performance 
be  permeated  by  that  steady  throb  of  regular  pulsation 
which  is  the  foundation  of  all  rhythmic  coherence. 

Modern  musical  rhythm  is  so  complex  in  its  frequent 
employment  of  syncopations,  "cross  accents,"  et  cetera, 
that  the  prospective  conductor  must  study  indefatigably  if 
he  is  to  unravel  its  apparently  inextricably  snarled-up 
threads.  We  assume,  however,  that  detailed  study  of 
rhythm  has  constituted  a  part  of  the  student's  work  in 
piano,  singing,  et  cetera,  and  shall  therefore  not  attempt  to 
treat  the  matter  further.  Let  us  advise  the  would-be 
conductor,  however,  to  continue  his  study  of  rhythm 
and  phrasing  unceasingly  and  never  to  allow  himself  to 
be  deluded  into  believing  that  an  accurate  knowledge  of 
these  things  is  less  necessary  now  than  formerly.  It 
has  seemed  to  us  that  some  public  performers  of  the 
present  day  were  cloaking  their  inabihty  to  play  or 
sing  with  rhythmic  accuracy  under  a  pretense  of  being 
highly  artistic  and  flexible  in  their  rhythmic  feeling. 
Needless  to  say,  the  existence  of  such  a  state  of  affairs 
is  to  be  greatly  deplored  and  the  student  is  admonished 
to  make  sure  that  he  is  able  to  perform  every  detail  of 
his  music  with  metronomic  accuracj'  before  he  attempts 
rubato  effects. 

MELODY.  HARMONY,  The  second,  third,  and  fourth  of  the 
AND  PITCH  elements  of  expression  as  cited  in  our 

list  on  page  46  belong  almost  wholly 
to  the  composer  since  he  is  able  to  indicate  them  pre- 
cisely, and  the  conductor's  chief  concern  in  dealing  with 
melody,  harmony,  and  pitch  registers  will  be  to  make 
certain  that  the  composer's  wishes  are  carried  out  to 


72  '  ESSENTIALS  IN   CONDUCTING 

the  letter.  For  this  reason  no  attempt  will  be  made  to 
discuss  these  matters  further,  the  topic  belonging  to 
composition  rather  than  to  conducting. 

PHYSICAL  MEANS  Now  that  we  have  reviewed  the  ele- 

USED  BY  THE  ments  of  expression  somewhat  fully, 
CONDUCTOR  FOR         u   *     * +1  ,      ^     a     cu   u  • 

INDICATING  what  of  the  conductor.'*    Shall  we  give 

EXPRESSIONAL  him  a   set  of  specific  directions  for 

EFFECTS  making  his  chorus  or  orchestra  sing  or 

play  more  loudly  or  more  rapidly  or 
more  dramatically.?  Our  reply  is — no,  not  any  more 
than  we  should  attempt  to  show  the  student  of  acting 
or  oratory  exactly  what  gestures  he  is  to  make  use  of  in 
playing  upon  the  emotions  of  his  audience.  As  implied 
at  the  outset,  the  thing  that  is  necessary  in  both  cases  is 
that  the  interpreter  have: 

1.  General  scholarship. 

2.  An  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  content  and  spirit  of  the  particular 
work  to  be  interpreted. 

Granting  the  presence  of  these  two  things,  the  actual 
gestures  will  usually  take  care  of  themselves.  The  con- 
ductor Altschuler  remarks  on  this  point: 

There  is  no  artificial  code  of  signals  needed  between  the  conductor  and  his 
men;  what  the  conductor  needs  is  a  clear  conception  of  the  composition. 

We  are  fully  in  accord  with  this  sentiment;  but  for  the 
benefit  of  the  tyro  it  may  be  well  to  note  again  that,  in 
general,  a  quickening  of  tempo  is  indicated  by  a  shorter, 
more  vigorous  stroke  of  the  baton,  whereas  a  slowing 
down  in  rate  of  speed,  especially  when  accompanied  by 
a  letting  down  of  emotional  intensity,  involves  a  longer, 
more  flowing  movement,  with  more  back  stroke.  Louder 
tone  is  often  indicated  by  the  clenched  fist,  the  fortissimo 
effect  at  the  climacteric  point  often  involving  a  strong 
muscular  contraction  in  the  entire  body;  while  softer 
tone  is  frequently  called  for  by  holding  the  left  hand 


TIMBRE,  PHRASING,  ETC.  73 

out  with  palm  down,  by  loosening  the  grip  upon  the 
baton,  and  by  a  generally  relaxed  condition  of  the  entire 
body.  Dynamic  changes  are  also  indicated  to  a  certain 
extent  by  the  amplitude  of  the  beat  and  by  the  position 
of  the  hands.  In  calling  for  a  pianissimo  effect,  the 
conductor  usually  gives  short  beats  with  the  hands  close 
together  (if  the  left  hand  is  also  used),  but  in  demand- 
ing fortissimo  the  beat  is  usually  of  much  greater  ampli- 
tude, and  the  hands,  therefore,  widely  separated.  For 
the  swell  (  — ==  ==—  )  the  hands  are  usually 
close  together  at  the  beginning,  are  then  gradually  sepa- 
rated as  far  as  possible,  coming  together  again  at  the 
end  of  the  decrescendo. 

Changes  in  quality  are  perhaps  most  frequently  sug- 
gested by  variation  in  the  facial  expression,  poise  of 
body,  et  cetera,  while  phrasing  is  often  indicated  by  a 
movement  of  the  left  hand  (thus  signaling  some  part  to 
begin  or  stop)  or  by  a  lifting  of  the  arms  and  shoulders 
at  the  breathing  point,  thus  sirnulating  the  action  of 
the  lungs  in  taking  breath,  and  causing  the  singers  or 
players  actually  to  take  a  breath  by  instinctive  imitation. 
The  manner  in  which  the  baton  is  grasped  and  manipu- 
lated is  of  course  another  way  of  indicating  these  various 
expressional  effects,  this  being  especially  noticeable  in 
the  case  of  phrasing,  which  is  perhaps  most  often  indi- 
cated by  simply  raising  the  baton  higher  at  the  end  of 
a  phrase,  thus  preparing  it  for  a  longer  sweep  at  the 
beginning  of  the  following  phrase.  But  all  of  these 
things  are  done  in  different  ways  by  various  conductors, 
and  no  set  rules  can  therefore  be  formulated. 

The  most  important  point  to  be  noted  by  the  begin- 
ner in  conducting  is  that  one  must  not  direct  with  merely 
the  hand  and  arm,  but  must  use  the  entire  body  from 
head  to  toe  in  communicating  to  his  chorus  or  orchestra 
his  own  emotion.  Facial  expression,  the  manner  of 
grasping  the  baton,  the  set  of  the  shoulders,  the  eleva- 
tion of  the  chest,  the  position  of  the  feet,  the  poise  of  the 


74  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

head — all  these  must  be  indicative  of  the  emotional  tone 
of  the  music  being  rendered.  But  be  sure  you  feel  a 
genuine  emotion  which  leads  you  to  do  these  various 
things,  and  do  not  play  to  the  audience  by  going  through 
all  kinds  of  contortions  that  are  not  prompted  at  all  by 
the  meaning  of  the  music,  but  are  called  into  existence 
entirely  by  the  conductor's  desire  to  have  the  audience 
think  that  he  is  a  great  interpreter.  If  the  conductor 
does  his  work  at  any  point  in  such  a  fashion  that  the 
audience  watches  him  and  is  filled  with  marvel  and  ad- 
miration because  of  the  interesting  movements  that  he 
is  making,  instead  of  listening  to  the  chorus  or  orchestra 
and  being  thrilled  by  the  beautiful  music  that  is  being 
heard,  then  that  conductor  is  retarding  rather  than 
advancing  the  progress  of  art  appreciation;  in  short  he 
is  failing  in  his  mission.  One  of  the  sincerest  compli- 
ments that  the  writer  has  ever  received  came  when  he 
asked  his  wife  whether  he  had  conducted  well  at  a  cer- 
tain public  performance,  and  she  replied  that  she 
guessed  it  was  all  right,  but  that  she  had  been  so  ab- 
sorbed in  listening  to  the  music  that  she  had  not  thought 
of  him  at  all! 

The  development  of  modem  orchestral  and  opei'atic 
music  has  brought  about  a  tremendous  change  in  the 
prominence  of  the  conductor,  and  there  is  no  doubt  but 
that  his  part  in  musical  performance  is  now  more  im- 
portant than  that  of  any  other  type  of  interpreter,  being 
probably  second  in  importance  only  to  that  of  the  com- 
poser. From  having  been  originally  a  mere  time- 
beater,  he  has  now  come  to  be  the  interpreter  par  excel- 
lence; and  as  Weingartner  remarks  (op.  cit.,  p.  9)  in 
referring  to  Wagner's  conducting: 

He  is  often  able  to  transform  as  if  by  magic  a  more  or  less  indefinite  sound 
picture  into  a  beautifully  shaped,  heart-moving  vision,  making  people  ask 
themselves  in  astonishment  how  it  is  that  this  work  which  they  had  long 
thought  they  knew  should  have  all  at  once  become  quite  another  thing.  And 
the  unprejudiced  mind  joyfully  confesses,  "Thus,  thus,  must  it  be." 


TIMBRE,  PHRASING,  ETC.  75 

It  will  soon  be  discovered  by  the  amateur  that  in 
every  case  where  an  effect  such  as  that  described  by 
Weingartner  has  been  brought  about,  it  is  because  the 
conductor  has  studied  the  music  and  has  then  made 
gestures  which  were  prompted  by  his  sympathetic  re- 
sponse to  the  thought  of  the  composer.  In  other  words, 
the  conducting  was  effective  because  the  feeling  which 
prompted  the  gestures  came  from  within,  as  is  always 
the  case  when  an  orator  or  an  actor  moves  us  deeply. 
This  is  what  is  meant  by  interpretation  in  conducting; 
and  we  can  scarcely  do  better,  in  concluding  our  discus- 
sion of  the  whole  matter,  than  to  quote  once  more  from 
a  writer  to  whom  we  have  already  referred.* 

The  great  interpreters  of  instrumental  music  are  those  who  can  most 
nearly  enter  into  the  composer's  ideals,  or  can  even  improve  upon  them,  and 
who  are  able  to  give  a  delicacy  or  force  of  accentuation  or  phrasing  which  it  is 
outside  of  the  possibility  of  notation  to  express.  .  ,  .  The  days  of  cold, 
classical  performance  of  great  works  are  practically  ovet.  The  executant  or 
conductor  now  seeks  to  stir  the  deeper  emotions  of  his  audience,  and  to  do  so  he 
must  pay  homage  to  the  artist  who  conceived  the  work,  by  interpreting  it  with 
enthusiasm  and  warmth. 

*  C.  F.  A.  Williams,  The  Hhythm  of  Modern  Music,  p.  18. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

The  Supervisor  of  Music  as  Conductor 

THE  FIELD  OF  The  phenomenal  progress  which  has 
SCHOOL  MUSIC  been  made  during  recent  years  in  the 
music  departments  of  both  the  grades 
and  the  high  schools  of  our  great  pubHc  educational 
systems,  together  with  the  fact  that  a  large  number  of 
young  men  and  women  of  real  musical  ability  are  enter- 
ing the  field  of  public  school  music  as  a  life  work,  make 
it  seem  worth  while  to  include  a  chapter  upon  the  work 
of  the  music  supervisor  as  conductor.  The  writer  has 
long  contended  that  the  public  school  systems  of  this 
country  offered  the  most  significant  opportunity  for 
influencing  the  musical  taste  of  a  nation  that  has  ever 
existed.  If  this  be  true,  then  it  is  highly  important  that 
the  teachers  of  music  in  these  school  systems  shall  be 
men  and  women  who  are,  in  the  first  place,  thoroughly 
trained  musicians;  in  the  second  place,  broadly  educated 
along  general  lines;  and  in  the  third  place,  imbued  with 
a  knowledge  concerning,  and  a  spirit  of  enthusiasm  for, 
what  free  education  along  cultural  lines  is  able  to  ac- 
complish in  the  lives  of  the  common  people.  In  con- 
nection with  this  latter  kind  of  knowledge,  the  super- 
visor of  music  will,  of  course,  need  also  to  become  some- 
what intimately  acquainted  with  certain  basic  principles 
and  practical  methods  of  both  general  pedagogy  and 
music  education. 

We  are  not  writing  a  treatise  on  music  in  the  public 
schools,  and  shall  therefore  not  attempt  to  acquaint  the 
reader,  in  the  space  of  one  chapter,  with  even  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  school  music  teaching.     We  shall 


MUSIC  SUPERVISOR  AS  CONDUCTOR  77 

merely  call  attentix)n  to  certain  phases  of  the  super- 
visor's work  that  seem  to  come  within  the  scope  of  a 
book  on  conducting. 

DIFFICULTIES  The  first  point  that  we  should  like  to 

INVOLVED  IN  have  noted  in  this  connection  is  that 

TEACHING  LARGE        .        ,  •  pp  f     x     * 

GROUPS  teaching  a  group  of  from  forty  to  one 

hundred  children  all  at  the  same  time 
is  a  vastly  different  matter  from  giving  individual  in- 
struction to  a  number  of  pupils  separately.  The  teacher 
of  a  class  needs  to  be  much  more  energetic,  much  more 
magnetic,  much  more  capable  of  keeping  things  moving 
and  of  keeping  everyone  interested  in  the  work  and 
therefore  out  of  mischief;  he  needs,  in  short,  to  possess 
in  high  degree  those  qualities  involved  in  leadership 
and  organization  that  were  cited  in  an  earlier  chapter  as 
necessary  for  the  conductor  in  general.  In  teaching 
individual  pupils  one  need  not  usually  think  of  the  prob- 
lem of  discipline  at  all;  but,  in  giving  instruction  to  a 
class  of  from  thirty  to  forty  children  in  the  public  schools, 
one  inevitably  finds  in  the  same  group  those  with  musical 
abihty  and  those  without  it;  those  who  are  interested 
in  the  music  lesson  and  those  who  are  indifferent  or 
even  openly  scornful;  those  who  are  full  of  energy  and 
enthusiasm  and  those  who  are  lazy  and  indifferent  and 
will  do  only  what  they  are  made  to  do;  those  who  have 
had  lessons  on  piano  or  violin  and  have  acquired  con- 
siderable proficiency  in  performance,  and  those  who  have 
just  come  in  from  an  outlying  rural  school  where  no 
music  has  ever  been  taught,  and  are  therefore  not  able 
to  read  music,  have  no  musical  perception  or  taste  what- 
soever, and  are  frequently  not  even  able  to  "carry  a 
tune."  In  dealing  with  such  heterogeneous  classes,  prob- 
lems of  discipline  as  well  as  problems  of  p>edagogy  are 
bound  to  arise,  and  it  requires  rare  tact  and  skill  in 
working  out  details  of  procedure,  as  well  as  a  broad  vision 
of  the  ultimate  end  to  be  accomplished,  to  bring  order 


78  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

out  of  such  musical  chaos.  And  yet  precisely  this  result 
is  being  secured  by  hundreds  of  music  teachers  and  super- 
visors all  over  the  country;  and  the  musical  effects  of  a 
fifteen-minute  daily  practice  period  are  already  surpris- 
ingly evident,  and  will  undoubtedly  become  more  and 
more  manifest  as  the  years  go  by.  The  outlook  for  the 
future  is  wholly  inspiring  indeed;  and  no  musician  need 
fear  that  in  taking  up  public  school  music  he  is  entering 
upon  a  field  of  work  which  is  too  small  for  one  of  his 
caliber.  The  only  question  to  be  asked  in  such  a  case  is 
whether  the  teacher  in  question  is  big  enough  and  is 
suflBciently  trained  along  musical,  general,  and  peda- 
gogical lines  to  handle  this  important  task  in  such 
fashion  as  to  insure  a  result  commensurate  with  the 
opportunity. 

THE  ADVANTAGES  Charm  of  personality  has  a  great 
OF  AN  ATTRACTIVE     ^j^^j  ^^  ^j^  ^m^\l  the  success  of  many 

PERSONALITY  ,.       .  f   i  m  i        »     •      •        o  u      i 

directors  or  children  s  singing,  hchool 

superintendents  are  well  aware  of  this  fact,  and  of  two 
equally  capable  candidates  for  a  school  position  (espe- 
cially one  involving  work  with  small  children)  the  super- 
visor who  is  attractive  in  appearance  and  neat  in  attire, 
is  almost  sure  to  be  chosen.  We  mention  this  fact  not 
in  order  to  discourage  those  not  possessing  an  average 
amount  of  personal  charm,  but  to  encourage  them  to 
take  physical  exercise,  and  by  other  means  to  increase 
the  attractiveness  of  their  physical  appearance;  to 
enhance  their  charm  further  by  tasteful  dress;  and  most 
important  of  all,  to  cultivate  a  sprightly  and  cheerful 
attitude  (but  not  a  patronizing  and  gushing  manner) 
toward  children  as  well  as  adults.  Attractiveness  of 
personality  may  be  increased  further  by  the  cultiva- 
tion of  refined  language  and  a  well-modulated  voice  in 
speaking,  as  well  as  by  schooling  oneself  in  the  habit- 
ual use  of  the  utmost  courtesy  in  dealing  with  all 
people. 


MUSIC  SUPERVISOR  AS  CONDUCTOR  79 

DIRECTING     In  the  lower  grades,  it  is  best  not  to  conduct 
YOUNG  formally  with  baton  in  hand,  but  rather  to 

stand  (or  sit)  before  the  class,  and  by  facial  ex- 
pression, significant  gesture,  bodily  pose,  et  cetera,  arouse 
an  appropriate  response  to  the  "expression"  of  the 
song.  Every  song  tells  a  story  of  some  sort  and  even 
little  children  can  be  caused  to  sing  with  surprisingly 
good  "expression"  if  the  teacher  makes  a  consistent 
effort  to  arouse  the  correct  mental  and  emotional 
attitude  toward  each  individual  song  every  time  it 
is  sung. 

DIRECTING  In  teaching  a  class  of  older  children, 

OLDER  CHILDREN       jj.  jg  ^gj}  f^j.  ^j^^  supervisor  to  stand 

at  the  front  of  the  room  with  baton  in 
hand,  giving  the  conventional  signals  for  attack  and  re- 
lease and  beating  time  in  the  usual  way  during  at  least 
a  part  of  each  song  in  order  that  the  children  may  be- 
come accustomed  to  following  a  conductor's  beat.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  beat  time  constantly,  and  the  teacher, 
after  giving  the  signal  for  the  attack  and  setting  the 
tempo,  may  lower  the  baton,  until  a  fermata,  or  a  ritar- 
dandoy  or  the  final  tone  of  the  song  makes  its  use  neces- 
sary again. 

A  word  of  warning  should  perhaps  be  inserted  at  this 
point  against  tapping  with  the  baton,  counting  aloud, 
beating  time  with  the  foot,  et  cetera,  on  the  teacher's 
part.  These  various  activities  may  occasionally  be 
necessary,  in  order  to  prevent  dragging,  to  change  the 
tempo,  to  get  a  clear  and  incisive  rhythmic  response  in 
a  certain  passage,  et  cetera;  but  their  habitual  employ- 
ment is  not  only  exceedingly  inartistic,  but  is  positively 
injurious  to  the  rhythmic  sense  of  the  children,  because 
it  takes  away  from  them  the  opportunity  (or  rather 
necessity)  of  each  one  making  his  own  individual  mus- 
cular response  to  the  rhythm  of  the  music.  The  more 
responsibility  the  teacher  takes,  the  less  the  pupils  will 


80  ESSENTIALS   IN    CONDUCTING 

assume,  and  in  this  way  they  are  deprived  of  the  prac- 
tice which  they  need  in  working  out  the  rhythm  for 
themselves,  the  result  often  being  that  a  group  of  chil- 
dren get  to  the  point  where  they  cannot  "keep  time" 
at  all  unless  some  one  counts  aloud  or  pounds  the  desk 
with  a  ruler  as  an  accompaniment  to  their  singing. 

THE  SELECTION  A  very  large  element  in  the  success  of 

OF  MUSIC  FOR  all  pubhc  performances  is  the  selection 

GRADE  CHILDREN  f  •      4.  +1         •   i  .    .  e  •         r 

of  just  the  right  type  of  music.  In 
the  case  of  small  children,  unison  songs  with  attractive 
music  and  childlike  texts  should  be  chosen.  When  the 
children  are  somewhat  older  (from  eight  or  nine  to 
twelve)  longer  and  more  elaborate  unison  songs  provided 
with  musicianly  accompaniments  may  be  selected,  while 
rounds  and  unaccompanied  part  songs  are  effective  by 
way  of  contrast.  In  the  case  of  upper-grade  children, 
part  songs  (sometimes  even  with  a  bass  part,  if  there  are 
enough  changed  voices  to  carry  it  successfully)  are  best. 
But  it  should  be  noted  that  the  voices  in  these  upper 
grades  are  not  usually  so  clear  and  brilliant  as  they  have 
been  in  the  two  or  three  preceding  years,  the  beauty 
and  brilhancy  of  the  child's  voice  culminating  at  about 
the  Sixth  Grade. 


THE  HIGH  SCHOOL  In  planning  public  performances  for 
CHORUS  IN  PUBLIC  ^  high  school  chorus,  many  difficult 
questions  arise.  Shall  the  program 
consist  of  miscellaneous  selections  or  of  a  connected 
work.'*  If  the  latter,  shall  it  be  of  the  operatic  type,  in- 
volving action,  scenery,  and  costumes,  or  shall  it  be 
of  the  cantata  or  oratorio  type?  And  if  the  latter,  shall 
heavy  works  like  the  Messiah  and  Elijah  be  given,  or 
shall  our  efforts  be  confined  to  presenting  the  shorter 
and  simpler  modem  works  which  are  musically  interest- 
ing and  in  the  rendition  of  which  the  immature  voices 


MUSIC  SUPERVISOR  AS  CONDUCTOR  81 

of  adolescent  boys  and  girls  are  not  so  likely  to  be 
strained?  A  discussion  of  these  matters  properly  be- 
longs in  a  treatise  on  public  school  music,  and  we  can 
only  state  our  belief  here  that,  in  general,  the  musical 
development  of  the  children  will  be  more  directly 
fostered  by  practice  upon  choral  rather  than  upon 
operatic  works;  and  that  extreme  care  must  be  exer- 
cised by  the  high  school  chorus  director  in  handling  im- 
mature voices  lest  they  be  strained  in  the  enthusiasm  of 
singing  music  written  for  mature  adult  voices.  Whether 
this  implies  the  entire  elimination  of  the  Messiah  and 
other  similar  works,  is  left  to  the  discretion  of  each  in- 
dividual supervisor,  it  being  our  task  merely  to  point 
out  the  responsibility  of  the  high  school  chorus  director 
for  recognizing  the  difference  between  mature  voices 
and  immature  ones. 

THE  PUBLIC  In  giving  public  performances  with  a 
PERFORMANCE  large  group  of  small  children,  the  direc- 
tor will  need  to  learn  that  it  is  necessary 
to  teach  in  advance  the  precise  shading  to  be  employed 
at  the  performance.  In  working  with  an  adult  chorus, 
the  conductor  expects  every  singer  to  watch  him  closely 
throughout  the  selection,  and  many  slight  changes  of 
tempo  and  dynamics  are  made  at  the  performance  that 
have  perhaps  never  been  thought  of  during  the  rehearsal. 
But  children  are  usually  not  able  to  keep  their  minds 
on  the  task  in  hand  to  this  extent,  and  if  there  is  to  be  a 
ritardando  or  a  crescendo  at  a  certain  point,  the  only  safe 
thing  is  to  teach  this  change  in  tempo  or  dynamics 
when  first  taking  up  the  song,  so  that  the  expressional 
element  may  become  a  habit  in  the  same  way  as  the 
tones  and  rhythms.  This  is  particularly  necessary  in 
teaching  the  same  songs  to  several  different  groups 
separately  in  preparation  for  a  public  performance  in 
which  various  groups  that  have  not  practised  together 
are  to  sing  the  same  numbers. 


82  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

ATTITUDE  OF  THE      The  conductor  must  always  appear 
CONDUCTOR  AT  cheerful  and  confident  when   con- 

THE  PERFORMANCE       ...         ,  -,  ,         /      f      xi     4.         xx 

ducting  children  (or  for  that  matter, 

adults)  in  public,  for  if  he  seems  anxious  and  distressed, 
or  worse  yet,  if  he  informs  the  singers  that  he  is  afraid 
that  they  will  not  do  well,  his  uneasiness  is  almost  sure 
to  be  communicated  to  the  performers  and  there  will 
probably  be  a  panic  and  perhaps  even  a  breakdown. 
If  the  conductor  seriously  feels  that  the  compositions  to 
be  performed  have  not  been  rehearsed  suflBciently,  it 
will  be  far  better  for  him  either  to  insist  upon  extra  re- 
hearsals (even  at  considerable  inconvenience),  or  else 
upon  a  postponement  of  the  performance.  A  good 
rule  to  follow  in  preparing  for  a  public  performance  of 
any  kind  is  this:  Go  through  the  work  over  and  over  until 
it  is  done  correctly;  then  go  through  it  enough  times  more 
to  fix  this  correct  way  in  mind  and  muscle  as  a  habit. 
Too  many  performances  are  given  upon  an  inadequate 
rehearsal  basis,  and  it  has  happened  again  and  again 
that  performers  have  been  so  busy  watching  the  notes 
that  they  have  had  no  time  to  watch  the  conductor, 
and  the  rendition  of  really  beautiful  music  has  been 
made  in  a  tame,  groping,  and  consequently  uninterest- 
ing manner.  Our  American  impatience  with  slow  proc- 
esses of  any  sort  is  as  often  to  blame  here  as  the  negli- 
gence of  the  conductor,  the  latter  often  arranging  to 
have  a  performance  at  an  earlier  date  than  he  really 
wishes  to  because  he  knows  that  his  chorus  will  become 
impatient  with  the  large  number  of  repetitions  that  a 
really  artistic  performance  requires. 

THE  HIGH  SCHOOL     In   directing   a    large    high    school 
CHORUS  chorus  (sometimes  numbering  from 

five  hundred  to  fifteen  hundred 
singers),  the  conductor  will  find  it  necessary  to  study 
his  score  in  advance  even  more  than  usual,  for  here  he 
is  dealing  with  large  numbers  of  bright  and  lively  Ameri- 


MUSIC  SUPERVISOR  AS  CONDUCTOR 


83 


can  boys  and  girls,  many  of  whom  are  not  particularly 
interested  in  the  chorus  practice  and  all  of  whom  love 
to  indulge  in  mischievous  pranks  of  various  sorts.  The 
conductor  who  is  likely  to  be  most  successful  in  handling 
such  a  chorus  is  he  who,  other  things  being  equal,  has 
prepared  his  work  most  thoroughly  and  is  able  to  con- 
duct without  looking  at  his  music  at  all,  and  who  can, 
therefore,  keep  things  moving  throughout  the  rehearsal 
period.  We  might  add  that  if  he  does  not  keep  things 
moving  musically,  the  students  in  his  chorus  will  keep 
them  moving  along  other  and  probably  less  desirable 
lines ! 


SEATING  THE  Many  other  topics  might  be  discussed 
HIGH  SCHOOL  [^  ^j^jg  chapter  but  the  subject  is  too 
complex  for  adequate  treatment  except 
in  a  work  dealing  with  this  one  subject  alone.  Let  us, 
therefore,  close  the  chapter  by  giving  a  plan  for  seating 
the  high  school  chorus  that  has  been  found  effective  in 
various  schools  where  it  has  been  used. 


Mezzo-soprano 

girls 
singing  soprano 

Mezzo-soprano 

girls 

singing  alto 

Girl 
Sopranos 

Tenors 

Baritones 

and 

Basses 

Girl 
Altos 

Boy 
Sopranos 

Boy 

Altos 

Director 

Piano 

SEATING    PLAN   FOR   A   HIGH    SCHOOL   CHORUS 


84  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

The  advantages  of  the  plan  given  above  are: 

1.  That  it  places  the  boys  in  front  where  their  less  developed  voices 
and  often  smaller  numbers  will  insm-e  better  balance,*  and  where  also  the 
teacher  can  more  easily  see  what  is  going  on  in  their  midst. 

2.  It  places  all  the  boys  in  the  same  part  of  the  room  and  thus  re- 
moves the  chief  objection  that  boys  with  unchanged  voices  "make  to  singing 
soprano  and  alto.  There  will  probably  not  be  a  great  number  of  these 
unchanged  voices  in  any  ordinary  high  school  chorus,  but  there  are  almost 
certain  to  be  a  few,  and  these  few  should  not  be  attempting  to  sing  tenor 
or  bass  when  their  voice-range  is  still  that  of  soprano  or  alto. 

3.  By  placing  the  mezzo  voices  (of  which  variety  there  are  usually  more 
than  of  any  other)  between  the  sopranos  and  altos,  they  can  be  used  on 
either  the  soprano  or  alto  part,  as  may  be  necessitated  by  the  range  and 
dynamic  demands  of  the  composition  in  hand.  In  seating  these  mezzo- 
soprano  girls  the  teacher  may  furthermore  allow  those  who,  although  hav- 
ing mezzo  voices,  prefer  to  sing  the  alto  part,  to  sit  on  the  side  next  to  the 
alto  section  and  the  others  on  the  side  next  to  the  soprano  section.  If 
there  are  any  boys  with  imchanged  voices  who  are  mezzo  in  range,  they 
may  be  seated  directly  back  of  the  bass  section,  thus  keeping  them  in  the 
boys'  division  and  yet  giving  them  an  opportunity  of  singing  with  those 
who  have  the  same  range  as  themselves. 

As  will  be  noted  in  the  plan,  the  conductor  stands 
directly  in  front  of  the  basses,  the  piano  being  placed  on 
either  side  as  may  be  most  convenient,  the  pianist,  of 
course,  facing  the  conductor.  In  directing  a  large 
chorus,  it  is  a  great  advantage  to  have  two  pianos,  one 
on  either  side. 

*  The  essentials  of  this  same  plan  of  sealing  are  recommended  to  adult  choruses  for 
a  like  reason;  viz.,  in  order  lo  enable  a  smaller  number  of  men's  voices  to  balance  a 
larger  number  of  sopranos  and  altos  by  placing  the  men  in  the  most  prominent  i>osition, 
instead  of  seating  them  back  of  the  women,  as  is  so  frequently  done. 


CHAPTER  IX 

The  Community  Chorus  Conductor 

THE  SIGNIFICANCE  The  recent  rise  of  community 

OF  COMMUNITY  MUSIC  ^lusic  has  evoked  no  Httle  con- 
troversy as  to  whether  art  can 
be  made  "free  as  air"  and  its  satisfactions  thro^\Ti  open 
to  all,  poor  as  well  as  rich;  or  whether  it  is  by  its  very 
nature  exclusive  and  aristocratic  and  therefore  neces- 
sarily to  be  confined  largely  to  the  few.  We  are  in- 
clined to  the  former  belief,  and  would  therefore  express 
the  opinion  that  in  our  efforts  to  bring  beauty  into  the 
lives  of  all  the  people,  we  are  engaged  in  one  of  the  most 
significant  musico-sociological  enterprises  ever  inaugu- 
rated. For  this  reason  we  shall  discuss  at  this  point 
ways  and  means  of  securing  satisfactory  results  in  one 
of  the  most  interesting  phases  of  community  music, 
viz.,  the  community  chorus.  The  development  of  the 
commimity  chorus  (and  indeed  to  a  certain  extent,  the 
whole  movement  to  bring  music  and  the  other  arts  into 
the  lives  of  the  proletariat)  is  due  to  a  combination  of 
artistic  and  sociological  impulses;  and  it  undoubtedly 
owes  its  origin  and  success  as  much  to  the  interest  in 
the  living  and  social  problems  of  the  middle  and  lower 
classes,  which  the  recently  developed  science  of  sociology 
has  aroused,  as  it  does  to-purely  musical  impulses. 

Because  of  the  fact  that  community  music  is  a  socio- 
logical phenomenon  as  well  as  an  artistic  one,  the  direc- 
tor of  a  community  chorus  must  possess  a  combination 
of  artistic  and  personal  traits  not  necessarily  present  in 
the  case  of  other  musicians.  In  particular,  he  must  be  a 
good  mixer  as  well  as  a  good  musician;    and  if  one  or 


86  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

the  other  of  these  quaHties  has  to  be  sacrificed  in  some 
degree  in  favor  of  the  other,  we  should  be  incHned  to 
insist  first  of  all  upon  the  right  sort  of  personal  traits  in 
the  leader  of  community  music.  In  order  to  be  really 
successful  in  working  among  the  common  people,  the 
leader  must  be  one  of  them  in  all  sincerity  of  spirit,  and 
must  be  genuinely  in  sympathy  with  their  point  of  view. 
This  fact  is  especially  pertinent  in  those  types  of  work 
in  which  one  deals  with  large  masses  of  men  and  women. 
The  director  of  community  singing  must  therefore, 
first  of  all,  be  a .  good  mob  leader.  But  if,  having 
met  the  people  upon  their  own  level,  he  can  now  call 
upon  his  artistic  instincts  and  his  musical  training, 
and  by  means  of  a  purely  esthetic  appeal  raise  his 
crowd  a  degree  or  two  higher  in  their  appreciation  of 
music  as  a  fine  art,  eventually  perhaps  finding  it  pos- 
sible to  interest  them  in  a  higher  type  of  music  than 
is  represented  by  the  songs  sung  in  this  friendly  and 
informal  way,  then  he  has  indeed  performed  his  task 
with  distinction,  and  may  well  be  elated  over  the  results 
of  his  labors. 

THE  SOCIAL  One  of  the  fundamental  reasons  for  en- 
EFFECT  OF       couraging  the  use  of  carols  at  community 

cTXT^TMi-  Christmas  tree  celebrations,  as   well    as 

SINGING  -Ml.  P  .... 

other  similar  forms  of  group  singing,  is  its 

beneficial  eflFect  upon  the  attitude  of  the  people  toward  one 

another  and  toward  their  social  group  or  their  country. 

Through  singing  together  in  this  informal  way,  each 

individual  in  the  crowd  is  apt  to  be  drawn  closer  to  the 

others,  to  feel  more  interested  in  his  neighbors;  and  in  the 

case  of  "sings,"  where  the  dominating  note  is  patriotism, 

to  become  imbued  with  a  deeper  spirit  of  loyalty  to 

country.    In  very  many  cases,  individuals  who  formerly 

would  have  nothing  to  do  with  one  another  have  been 

drawn  together  and  have  become  really  friendly,  as  the 

result  of  sitting  together  at  a  community  "sing."    Refer- 


COMMUNITY  CHORUS  CONDUCTOR  87 

ring  to  the  effect  of  the  first  "Song  and  Light  Festival" 
in  New  York  City,  a  well-known  artist  remarked:* 

The  movement  illustrates  plainly  to  me  the  coming  forth  of  a  new  conscious- 
ness. Outside  the  park,  strikes,  sedition,  anarchy,  hatred,  malice,  envy; 
within,  beauty,  peace,  the  sense  of  brotherhood  and  harmony.  .  .  .  Com- 
munity singing  is  teaching  men  to  find  themselves,  and  to  do  it  in  unity  and 
brotherly  love. 

This  same  sort  of  an  effect  has  been  noted  by  us  and 
by  innumerable  others  in  many  other  places,  and  va- 
rious testimonies  to  the  beneficial  social  effect  of  com- 
munity singing,  neighborhood  bands,  school  orchestras, 
children's  concerts,  and  similar  types  of  musical  activity 
have  come  from  all  parts  of  the  country  since  the  incep- 
tion of  the  movement. 

The  impulse  to  bring  music  into  the  lives  of  all  the 
people  is  not  a  fad,  but  is  the  result  of  the  working  out 
of  a  deep-seated  and  tremendously  significant  innate 
tendency — the  instinct  for  self-expression;  the  same  in- 
stinct which  in  another  form  is  making  us  all  feel  that 
democracy  is  the  only  sure  road  to"  ultimate  satisfac- 
tion and  happiness.  It  behooves  the  musician,  there- 
fore, to  study  the  imderlying  bases  of  the  community 
music  movement,  and  to  use  this  new  tool  that  has  been 
thus  providentially  thrown  into  his  hands  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  art  appreciation,  rather  than  to  stand  aloof 
and  scoff  at  certain  imperfections  and  crudities  which 
inevitably  are  only  too  evident  in  the  present  phase  of 
the  movement. 

QUALITIES  OF  THE  If  the  social  benefit  referred  to  above, 
COMxMUNITY  SONG  _^i^  ^  ^j.^  growth  of  group  feehng 
and  of  neighborly  interest  in  one's 
fellows,  is  to  result  from  our  community  singing,  we 
must  first  of  all  have  leaders  who  are  able  to  make 
people  feel  cheerful  and  at  ease.     The  community  song 

*  Kitty  Cheatham,  Musical  America,  October  7,  1916. 


88  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

leader  must  be  able  to  raise  a  hearty  laugh  occasionally, 
and  he  must  by  the  magnetism  of  his  personality  be 
able  to  make  men  and  women  who  have  not  raised  their 
voices  in  song  for  years  past  forget  their  shyness,  forget 
to  be  afraid  of  the  sound  of  their  own  voices,  forget  to 
wonder  whether  anyone  is  listening,  and  join  heartily 
in  the  singing. 

There  is  no  one  way  of  securing  this  result;  in  fact, 
the  same  leader  often  finds  it  necessary  to  use  different 
tactics  in  dealing  with  different  crowds,  or  for  that 
matter,  different  methods  with  the  same  crowd  at  dif- 
ferent times.  The  crux  of  the  matter  is  that  the  leader 
must  in  some  way  succeed  in  breaking  up  the  formality, 
the  stiffness  of  the  occasion;  must  get  the  crowd  to 
loosen  up  in  their  attitude  toward  him,  toward  one  an- 
other, and  toward  singing.  This  can  often  be  accom- 
plished by  making  a  pointed  remark  or  two  about  the 
song,  and  thus,  by  concentrating  the  attention  upon  the 
meaning  of  the  words,  make  the  singers  forget  them- 
selves. Sometimes  having  various  sections  of  the  crowd 
sing  different  stanzas,  or  different  parts  of  a  stanza  an- 
tiphonally  will  bring  the  desired  result.  By  way  of 
variety,  also,  the  women  may  be  asked  to  sing  the  verse 
while  the  entire  chorus  joins  in  the  refrain;  or  the  men 
and  women  may  alternate  in  singing  stanzas;  or  those 
in  the  back  of  the  balcony  may  repeat  the  refrain  as  an 
echo;  or  the  leader  and  the  crowd  may  sing  antiphonally. 
In  these  various  ways,  considerable  rivalry  may  be 
aroused  in  the  various  sections  of  a  large  chorus,  and 
the  stiffness  and  unfriendliness  will  usually  be  found  to 
disappear  like  magic.  But  if  the  director  is  cold  and 
formal  in  his  attitude,  and  if  one  song  after  another  is 
sung  in  the  conventional  way  with  no  comment,  no 
anecdote,  and  no  division  into  sections,  the  people  will 
be  more  than  likely  to  go  away  criticizing  the  leader  or 
the  accompanist  or  the  songs  or  each  other,  and  the 
next  time  the  crowd  will  probably  be  smaller  and  the 


COMMUNITY  CHORUS  CONDUCTOR  89 

project  will  eventually  die  out.  The  chronic  fault- 
finder will  then  say,  "I  told  you  it  was  only  a  fad  and 
that  it  would  not  last";  but  he  is  wrong,  and  the  failure 
must  be.  attributed  to  poor  management  rather  than  to 
any  inherent  weakness  in  the  idea  itself. 

VARIETY  OF  SONG  The  majority  of  people  have  no 
MATERIAL  MADE  opportunityof  singing  except  when 

COMMUNITY  SINGING  *^^^  ^^  ^^  church;  but  many  do 
not  go  to  church  often,  and  even 
those  who  go  do  not  always  sing,  and  only  have  the 
opportunity  of  singing  one  type  of  music  when  they 
do  take  part.  Moreover,  for  various  reasons,  the  sing- 
ing of  church  congregations  is  not  as  hearty  as  it 
used  to  be  a  generation  or  two  ago.  The  opportunity 
to  spend  an  hour  in  singing  patriotic  hymns,  senti- 
mental songs,  and  occasionally  a  really  fine  composition, 
such  as  the  Pilgrims'  Chorus  from  Tannhduser,  is 
therefore  eagerly  welcomed  by  a  great  many  men 
and  women — those  belonging  to  the  upper  classes  as 
well  as  the  proletariat.  When  once  the  barrier  of 
formality  has  been  broken  down,  such  gatherings, 
especially  when  directed  by  a  leader  who  is  a  good 
musician  as  well  as  a  good  mixer,  may  well  become  the 
means  of  interesting  many  thousands  of  men  and  women 
in  the  more  artistic  phases  of  music;  may  indeed  eventu- 
ally transform  many  a  community,  not  only  from  a 
crowd  of  individuals  into  a  homogeneous  social  group, 
but  may  actually  change  the  city  or  village  from  a  spot 
where  ugliness  has  reigned  supreme  to  one  where  the 
dominating  note  is  beautj'^ — beauty  of  service  as  well  as 
beauty  of  street  and  garden  and  public  building;  and 
where  drama  and  music,  pictures  and  literature,  are  the 
most  cherished  possessions  of  the  people.  In  a  place 
which  has  been  so  transformed,  the  "eight  hours  of 
leisure"  that  have  so  troulJed  our  sociologists  will  pre- 
sent no  problem  whatever;    for  the  community  chorus. 


90  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

the  neighborhood  orchestra,  the  music  and  dramatic 
clubs,  and  the  splendid  Hbraries  and  art  galleries  will 
assume  most  of  the  burden  of  providing  a  worthy  use  of 
leisure. 

THE  NECESSITY  Community  "sings"  (like  everything 
OF  ADVERTISING     ^jg^  ^j^j^^.  jg  ^.^  achieve  success  in  this 

age)  must  be  advertised,  and  to  the 
leader  usually  falls  the  lot  of  acting  as  advertising 
manager.  It  will  be  well  to  begin  the  campaign  a 
month  or  more  before  the  first  "sing"  is  to  be  held, 
sending  short  articles  to  the  local  papers,  in  which  is 
described  the  success  of  similar  enterprises  in  other 
places.  Then  a  week  or  so  before  the  "sing,"  carefully 
worded  announcements  should  be  read  in  churches, 
Sunday  schools,  lodge  meetings,  and  high-school  assem- 
blies. In  connection  with  this  general  publicity,  the 
leader  will  do  well  also  to  talk  personally  with  a  large 
number  of  men  and  women  in  various  walks  of  life,  ask- 
ing these  people  not  only  to  agree  to  be  present  them- 
selves, but  urging  them  to  talk  about  the  project  to  other 
friends  and  acquaintances,  inviting  them  to  come  also. 
On  the  day  of  the  first  "sing"  it  may  be  well  to  circu- 
late attractively  printed  handbills  as  a  final  reminder, 
these  of  course  giving  in  unmistakable  language  the 
time  and  place  of  the  meeting  and  perhaps  stating  in 
bold  type  that  admission  is  entirely  free  and  that  no 
funds  are  to  be  solicited.  These  various  advertising 
activities  will  naturally  necessitate  the  expenditure  of 
a  small  amount  of  money;  but  it  is  usually  possible  to 
secure  donations  or  at  least  reductions  of  price  in  the 
case  of  printing,  hall  rental,  et  cetera,  and  the  small 
amount  of  actual  cash  that  is  needed  can  usually  be 
raised  among  a  group  of  interested  people  without  any 
difficulty.  It  is  our  belief  that  the  whole  project  is 
more  likely  to  succeed  if  the  leader  himself  is  serving 
without  remuneration,  for  he  will  then  be  easily  able 


COMMUNITY  CHORUS  CONDUCTOR  91 

to  refute  any  charge  that  he  is  urging  the  project  out 
of  selfish  or  mercenary  considerations. 

PROVIDING  THE  The  leader  of  community  singing  must 
WORDS  OF  SONGS  j^q^  make  the  mistake  of  supposing 
that  "everybody  knows  America, 
Swanee  River,  and  Old  Black  Joe,"  and  that  no  words 
need  therefore  to  be  provided.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
not  more  than  one  person  in  twenty-five  can  repeat 
correctly  even  one  of  these  songs  that  "everybody 
knows,"  and  we  may  as  well  recognize  this  fact  at  the 
outset  and  thus  prevent  a  probable  fiasco.  There  are 
three  ways  of  placing  the  songs  before  our  crowd  of 
people : 

1 .  Having  the  words  of  all  songs  to  be  sung  printed  on  sheets  of  paper  and 
passing  one  of  these  out  to  each  person  in  the  audience. 

2.  Furnishing  a  book  of  songs  at  a  cost  of  five  or  ten  cents  and  asking 
each  person  in  the  audience  to  purchase  this  book  before  the  "sing"  begins, 
bringing  it  back  each  succeeding  time. 

3.  Flashing  the  words  (sometimes  the  music  also)  on  a  screen  in  front  of 
the  assembly.  The  disadvantage  of  tlie  last  named  method  is  the  fact  that 
the  auditorium  has  to  be  darkenetl  in  order  that  the  words  may  stand  out 
clearly;  but  in  out-of-door  singing  the  plan  has  very  great  advantages,  l>eing 
for  this  purpose  perhaps  the  best  of  the  three. 

After  the  chorus  has  gotten  well  on  its  feet,  it  will  prob- 
ably be  best  to  purchase  copies  of  some  larger  and  more 
elaborate  book,  the  copies  being  either  owned  by  indi- 
vidual members  or  else  purchased  out  of  treasury  funds, 
and  therefore  belonging  to  the  organization.  At  the 
first  "sing"  it  will  be  a  distinct  advantage  if  no  financial 
outlay  whatever  is  required  of  the  individuals  compos- 
ing the  chorus. 

THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  In  conclusion,  let  us  urge  the 
PLANNING  IN  ADVANCE     leader  of  community  singing  to 

decide  beforehand  just  what 
songs  are  to  be  used,  and  to  study  the  words  of  these  songs 
carefully  so  as  to  be  able  to  imbue  the  chorus  with  the 


92  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

correct  spirit  of  each  one,  having  at  his  tongue's  end  the 
story  of  the  song  and  other  pointed  remarks  about  it  that 
will  enhven  the  occasion  and  keep  things  from  stagnating. 
He  will,  of  course,  frequently  find  it  necessary  to  modify 
his  plan  as  the  "sing"  progresses,  for  one  of  the  most 
necessary  qualifications  in  the  leader  is  flexibility  and 
quick  wit.  But  if  he  has  a  definite  program  in  mind  and 
knows  his  material  so  well  that  he  does  not  need  to  look 
at  his  book,  he  will  be  much  more  likely  to  succeed  in 
holding  the  interest  of  his  chorus  throughout  the  "sing." 
Let  him  be  sure  that  a  skilful  accompanist  is  at  hand 
to  play  the  piano,  perhaps  even  going  to  the  trouble  of 
meeting  the  accompanist  beforehand  and  going  through 
all  material  to  be  used  so  as  to  insure  a  mutual  under- 
standing upon  such  matters  as  tempo,  et  cetera.  In 
out-of-door  group  singing  a  brass  quartet  (consisting  of 
two  cornets  and  two  trombones,  or  two  •comets,  a  trom- 
bone, and  a  baritone)  is  more  effective  than  a  piano,  but 
if  this  is  to  be  done  be  sure  to  find  players  who  can  trans- 
pose, or  else  write  out  the  parts  in  the  proper  transposed 
keys.  When  such  an  accompaniment  is  to  be  used,  the 
leader  should  have  at  least  one  rehearsal  with  the  quartet 
in  order  that  there  may  be  no  hitches. 

THE  MEETING      If  possible,  let  the  *  'sing' '  be  held  in  some 
PLACE  jjg^jj  jjQ^  connected  with  any  particular 

group  of  people,  so  that  all  may  feel 
equally  at  home  (there  are  decided  objections  to  using 
either  a  church  or  a  lodge  room);  and,  in  giving  the 
invitation  for  the  first  meeting,  make  sure  that  no 
group  of  people  shall  have  any  ground  whatsoever  for 
feeling  slighted,  even  in  the  smallest  degree. 

Granting  the  various  factors  that  we  have  been  recom- 
mending, and,  most  important  of  all,  having  provided 
the  right  type  of  leader  to  take  charge  of  the  "sings," 
the  enterprise  cannot  but  have  significant  results  along 
both  musical  and  sociological  lines. 


CHAPTER  X 

The  Orchestral  Conductor 

DIFFICULTIES  Conducting  an  orchestra  from 

INVOLVED  IN  CONDUCTING  full  score  is  a  vastly  more  com- 
A  LARGE  ORCHESTRA  v     ^.   j  4^+       A         j-       * 

plicated  matter  than  direct- 
ing a  chorus  singing  four-part  music,  and  the  training 
necessary  in  order  to  prepare  one  for  this  task  is  long  and 
complicated.  In  addition  to  the  points  already  rehearsed 
as  necessary  for  the  conductor  in  general,  the  leader  of 
an  orchestra  must  in  the  first  place  know  at  least  super- 
ficially the  method  of  playing  the  chief  orchestral  in- 
struments, the  advantages  and  disadvantages  involved 
in  using  their  various  registers,  the  difficulties  of  cer- 
tain kinds  of  execution,  and  other  similar  matters  which 
are  often  referred  to  by  the  term  instrumentation.  In  the 
second  place,  he  must  understand  the  combinations  of 
these  various  instruments  that  are  most  effective,  and 
also  what  registers  in  certain  instruments  blend  well  with 
others;  in  other  words,  he  must  be  familiar  with  the 
science  of  orchestration.  In  the  third  place,  he  must 
understand  the  complicated  subject  of  transposing  in- 
struments, and  must  be  able  to  detect  a  player's  mistakes 
by  reading  the  transposed  part  as  readily  as  any  other. 
And  finally,  he  must  be  able  to  perform  that  most  diffi- 
cult task  of  all,  viz.,  to  read  an  orchestral  score  with 
at  least  a  fair  degree  of  ease,  knowing  at  all  times  what 
each  performer  is  supposed  to  be  playing  and  whether 
he  is  doing  the  right  thing  or  not.  This  implies  being 
able  to  look  at  the  score  as  a  whole  and  get  a  fairly 
definite  impression  of  the  total  effect;  but  it  also  in- 
volves the  ability  to  take  the  score  to  the  piano  and  as- 


94  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

semble  the  various  parts  (including  the  transposed  ones) 
so  that  all  important  tones,  harmonic  and  melodic,  are 
brought  out.  A  glance  at  even  a  very  simple  orchestral 
score  such  as  that  found  in  Appendix  B  will  probably  at 
once  convince  the  reader  of  the  complexity  of  the  task, 
and  will  perhaps  make  him  hesitate  to  "rush  in  where 
angels  fear  to  tread"  until  he  has  spent  a  number  of 
years  in  preparation  for  the  work. 

DIRECTING  A    The  above  description  has  reference,  of 

SMALL  course,  to  conducting  an  orchestra  of  ap- 

ORCHESTRA  •       4.  i  u      •     j-  •  j 

proximately  symphonic  dimensions,  and 

does  not  refer  to  the  comparatively  easy  task  of  directing 
a  group  consisting  of  piano,  violins,  comet,  trombone, 
and  perhaps  one  or  two  other  instruments  that  happen 
to  be  available.*  In  organizing  an  "orchestra"  of  this 
type,  the  two  most  necessary  factors  are  a  fairly  profi- 
cient reader  at  the  piano  (which,  of  course,  not  only 
supplies  the  complete  harmony,  but  also  covers  a  mul- 
titude of  sins  both  of  omission  and  of  commission),  and 
at  least  one  skilful  violinist,  who  must  also  be  a  good 
reader.  Given  these  two  indispensable  elements,  other 
parts  may  be  added  as  players  become  available;  and 
although  the  larger  the  number  of  wind  instruments  ad- 
mitted, the  greater  the  likelihood  of  out-of-tune  playing, 
yet  so  great  is  the  fascination  of  tonal  variety  that  our 
inclination  is  always  to  secure  as  many  kinds  of  instru- 
ments as  possible. 

The  chief  value  to  be  derived  from  ensemble  practice 
of  this  type  is  not,  of  course,  in  any  public  performances 
that  may  be  given,  but  is  to  be  found  in  the  effect  upon 

'*'  I>et  us  not  be  misunderstood  at  this  point.  We  are  not  sneering  at  the  heterogeneous 
collections  of  instruments  that  are  gathered  together  under  the  name  of  orchestra  in 
many  of  the  public  schools  throughout  the  country.  Oa  the  contrary,  we  regard  this 
rapidly  increasing  interest  in  ensciulile  playing  as  one  of  the  most  significant  tendencies 
that  has  ever  appeared  in  our  American  musical  life,  and  as  a  result  of  it  we  expect  to 
see  the  establishment  of  many  nn  additional  orchestra  of  symphonic  rank,  as  well  as 
the  filling  in  of  existing  organizations  with  American-born  and  American-trained  players. 
There  is  no  reason  why  wind  players  should  not  be  trained  in  lliis  country  as  well  as  in 
Europe,  if  we  will  only  make  a  consistent  attempt  to  interest  our  children  in  the  study 
of  these  instriimenta  while  they  are  young,  and  provide  sutlicient  opjiortunity  for  en- 
semble practice  in  connection  with  our  music  departments  in  the  public  schools. 


THE  ORCHESTRAL  CONDUCTOR  95 

the  performers  themselves,  and  the  principal  reason  for 
encouraging  the  organization  of  all  sorts  of  instrumental 
groups  is  in  order  to  offer  an  opportunity  for  ensemble 
playing  to  as  many  amateur  performers  as  possible.  For 
this  reason,  unavoidable  false  intonation  must  not  be 
too  seriously  regarded. 

An  orchestra  such  as  we  have  been  describing  is  fre- 
quently directed  by  one  of  the  performers;  but  it  is  our 
belief  that  if  the  group  consists  of  ten  or  more  players  it 
will  be  far  better  to  have  the  conductor  stand  before 
the  players  and  direct  them  with  a  baton.  The  type  of 
music  that  is  available  for  amateur  ensemble  practice 
is  unfortunately  not  often  accompanied  by  a  full  score 
for  the  conductor's  use,  and  he  must  usually  content 
himself  with  stud\T:ng  the  various  parts  as  well  as  he 
may  before  the  rehearsal,  and  then  direct  from  a  first  vio- 
lin part  (in  which  the  beginnings  of  all  important  parts 
played  by  other  instruments  are  "cued  in").  Directing 
from  an  incomjjlete  score  is,  of  course,  extremely  unsat- 
isfactory from  the  musician's  standpoint,  but  the  neces- 
sity of  doing  it  has  this  advantage,  viz.y  that  many  per- 
sons who  have  charge  of  small  "orchestras"  of  this  type 
would  be  utterly  unable  to  follow  a  full  score,  and  might 
therefore  be  discouraged  from  organizing  the  group  at  all. 

SEATING  THE  Symphony  orchestras  are  always  seated 
ORCHESTRA  jj^  approximately  the  same  way,  and  if  our 

small  ensemble  group  consists  of  twenty 
players  or  more,  it  will  be  well  for  the  conductor  to  arrange 
them  in  somewhat  the  same  manner  as  a  larger  orchestra. 
In  order  to  make  this  clear,  the  ordinary  arrangement  of 
the  various  parts  of  a  symphony  orchestra  is  here  supphed. 
The  position  of  the  wood  winds  and  of  the  lower  strings 
as  well  as  of  the  percussion  instruments  and  harp  varies 
somewhat,  this  depending  upon  the  composition  being 
performed,  the  idiosyncrasies  of  the  conductor,  the  size 
and  shape  of  the  platform,  et  cetera. 


96 


ESSENTIALS  IN   CONDUCTING 


o       o      o       o 
Ui'rst 'Violins 
o       o       o       o 


Gorviudor 


o       o       o       o 

Second  Olo/iVi^ 

o        o       o       o 


o        o 

o        o 

o 

o 


SEATING   PLAN   OF   A   SYMPHONY    ORCHESTRA 

In  dealing  with  a  smaller  group  (not  of  symphonic 
dimensions),  it  will  be  well  to  have  the  piano  in  the 
middle,  the  lower  strings  at  the  left,  thf»  winds  at  the 
right,  and  the  violins  in  their  usual  position.  The  dia- 
gram will  make  this  clear.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  this 
seating  plan  is  only  suggestive,  and  that  some  other 
arrangement  may  frequently  prove  more  satisfactory. 


o 

iDUass 


o  o 

o  o 


o 
Jrmbone 

h9o 

S 

o 

Ol 

O 

o              o 

Second'^olins 
o               o 

SEATING  PLAN  SUGGESTED  FOR  A  SMALL  ORCHESTRA 


THE  ORCHESTRAL  CONDUCTOR  97 

PROPORTION  OF     In  a  symphony  orchestra  of  about  one 
INSTRlMKNTS        hundred  players,  the  proportion  of  in- 
struments is  approximately  as  follows: 

1.  Strings: 

18  first  violins 
16  second  violins 
14  violas 
12  violoncellos 
10  double  basses 

2.  Wood  wind: 

3  flutes       1    ,,-      ,,        ,      ,  , 

,     .      ,       >   (I  sualiv  onlv  three  players) 

1  piccolo     J 

,  „     ,.  ,   ,  /   (Usually  only  three  players) 

1  English  horn  j 

3  clarinets  1    /.•       n         •      ,  , 

1  bass  clarinet       /    ^^""^"^  °°*^  ^'^^^  ^^^^^''^ 

,    ,     ,  ,    ,  /  (Usually  only  three  players) 

1  double  bassoon       I 

3.  Brass  wind: 

4  horns     (Sometimes  6  or  8) 

2  or  3  trumpets     (Sometimes  2  cornets  also) 

3  trombones 
1  bass  tuba 

4.  Fercdssion  : 

1  bass  drum       1    ,^.        ,        \ 
,  >   (One  player) 

1  snare  drum      J 

3  kettledrums    (Of  different  sizes — one  player) 

1  triangle  ] 

1  glockenspiel         \   (One  player) 

1  pair  cymbals       J 

et  cetera 

1  harp  (Sometimes  2) 

It  will  be  noted  that  out  of  about  one  hundred  players 
almost  three-quarters  are  performers  upon  stringed  in- 
struments, and  it  is  this  very  large  proportion  of  strings 
that  gives  the  orchestral  tone  its  characteristic  smooth- 
ness, its  infinite  possibilities  of  d\Tiamic  shading,  its 
almost  unbelievable  agility,  and,  of  course,  its  inimi- 
table sonority.    The  wind  instruments  are  useful  chiefly 


98  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

in  supplying  variety  of  color,  and  also  in  giving  the  con- 
ductor the  possibility  of  occasionally  obtaining  enormous 
power  by  means  of  which  to  thrill  the  hearer  at  climac- 
teric points. 

Our  reason  for  supplying  the  above  information  is 
mainly  in  order  to  direct  attention  to  the  small  propor- 
tion of  wind  (and  especially  of  brass)  instruments,  and 
to  warn  the  amateur  conductor  not  to  admit  too  large 
a  number  of  comets  and  trombones  to  his  organization, 
lest  the  resulting  effect  be  that  of  a  band  rather  than  that 
of  an  orchestra.  If  there  are  available  a  great  many 
wind  instruments  and  only  a  few  strings,  it  will  probably 
be  better  to  admit  only  a  few  of  the  best  wind  instru- 
ment players  to  the  orchestra  (about  two  comets  and 
one  trombone)  and  to  organize  a  band  in  order  to  give 
the  rest  of  the  players  an  opportunity  for  practice.* 
It  will  probably  be  necessary  for  the  conductor  to  warn 
his  wind  players  to  aim  at  a  more  mellow  tone  than  they 
use  when  playing  in  a  band,  in  order  that  the  brass  tone 
may  blend  with  the  string  tone.  In  the  case  of  the  reed 
instruments,  this  will  sometimes  mean  a  thinner  reed 
in  orchestra  work  than  is  used  in  bands. 

TRANSPOSING  In  dealing  with  any  ensemble  group  that 
INSTRUMENTS  includes  wind  instruments,  the  conductor 
must  master  the  intricacies  involved  in 
the  subject  of  transposing  instruments,  and  although  this 
book  is  not  the  place  to  get  such  technical  knowledge  as 
was  referred  to  in  the  introductory  paragraph  of  this 
chapter,  yet  perhaps  a  brief  explanation  of  the  most  im- 
portant points  will  not  be  wholly  out  of  place,  since  we 
are  writing  more  especially  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
amateur. 

*  In  makinK  plans  for  the  organization  of  a  group  of  wind  instniment  players  into  a 
hand,  it  should  ho,  noted  by  the  conductor  that  here  the  entire  harmony  must  be  sup- 
plied by  the  individual  instruments  (no  piano  being  used)  thus  making  it  necessary  to 
have  alto,  tenor,  and  baritone  stixhorns  in  addition  to  cornets,  clarinets,  flutes,  and  trom- 
bones. The  tuba  is  also  almost  indispensable,  while  the  inclusion  of  two  or  three^  sjixo- 
phones  will  greatly  increase  the  mellowness  of  the  effect  as  well  as  providing  an  additional 
color  to  make  the  tonal  textures  more  interestiiig. 


THE  ORCHESTRAL  CONDUCTOR  99 

By  a  transposing  instrument  we  mean  one  in  the  case 
of  which  the  performer  either  plays  from  a  part  that  is 
written  in  a  different  key  from  that  of  the  composition, 
or  that  sounds  pitches  an  octave  higher  or  lower  than  the 
notes  indicate.  Thus,  e.g.,  in  a  composition  written  in  the 
key  of  E-flat,  and  actually  played  in  that  key  by  the 
strings,  piano,  et  cetera,  the  clarinet  part  would  probably 
be  written  in  the  key  of  F,  i.e.,  it  would  be  transposed  a 
whole  step  upward;  but,  of  course,  the  actual  tones 
would  be  in  the  key  of  E-flat.  The  player,  in  this  case, 
would  perform  upon  a  B-flat  clarinet — i.e.,  a  clarinet 
sounding  pitches  a  whole  step  lower  than  indicated  by 
the  notes.  (It  is  called  a  B-flat  clarinet  because  its 
fundamental  gives  us  the  pitch  B-flat — this  pitch  being 
a  whole-step  lower  than  C;  and  it  is  because  the  pitch 
sounded  is  a  whole  step  lower  that  the  music  has  to  be 
transposed  a  whole  step  higher  in  order  to  bring  it  into 
the  correct  key  when  played.)  In  the  case  of  the  clar- 
inet in  A,  the  pitches  produced  by  the  instrument  are 
actually  a  minor  third  lower  than  the  notes  indicate  (A 
is  a  minor  third  lower  than  C,  just  as  B-flat  is  a  whole- 
step  lower).  In  writing  music  for  clarinet  in  A,  there- 
fore, the  music  will  need  to  be  transposed  upward  a 
minor  third  in  order  that  when  played  it  may  be  in  the 
right  key;  just  as  in  the  case  of  the  clarinet  in  B-flat,  it 
has  to  be  transposed  upward  a  whole-step. 

"Clarinet  or  cornet  in  B-flat"  means,  therefore,  an 
instrument  that  sounds  pitches  a  whole-step  lower  than 
written;  "clarinet  or  cornet  in  A"  means  one  that 
sounds  pitches  a  minor  third  lower  than  written;  "horn 
in  F"  means  an  instrument  sounding  pitches  a  perfect 
fifth  lower  than  written  (because  F  is  a  perfect  fifth 
below  C) ;  while  the  "clarinet  in  E-flat"  sounds  pitches 
a  minor  third  higher  than  written.  Whether  the  pitches 
sounded  are  higher  or  lower  than  the  notes  indicate  will 
have  to  be  learned  by  experience  or  study. 

If  the  passage  marked  Fig.  1  were  to  be  orchestrated 


100 


ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 


SO  as  to  give  the  highest  voice  to  the  clarinet  and  the 
lowest  to  the  horn,  the  clarinet  and  horn  parts  would 
appear  as  shown  in  Fig.  2. 


f^fffn 


Clarinet  in  D'> 


m 


UAJlA 


J  J  j  J 


r^= 


pj_  2     ^^larinei  in  u* 


Horns  m  F 


^ 


In  order  to  make  this  information  more  specific,  we 
add  a  table  showing  the  keys  of  the  original  and  trans- 
posed parts.  The  practical  band  man  expresses  the 
substance  of  this  table  tersely  by  saying,  "subtract  3 
sharps  or  2  flats." 


Original  Key 

Transposed  Key 

Kind  of  Instrument 

C 

D 

B-flat 

G 

B-flat 

A 

D 

F 

A 

A 

C 

A 

E 

G 

A 

B 

D 

A 

F-sharp 

A 

A 

C-sharp 

E 

A 

F 

G 

B-flat 

B-fiat 

C 

B-flat 

E-flat 

F 

B-flat 

A-flat 

B-flat 

B-flat 

D-flat 

E-flat 

B-flat 

G-flat 

A-flat 

B-flat 

or 

\     or 

A 

A 

C-Oat 

D-flat 

B-flat 

REASONS  FOR 
TRANSPOSING 
INSTRUMENTS 


The  principal  reasons  for  the  use  of  trans- 
posing instruments  are:  first,  because  cer- 
tain sizes  of  instruments  produce  a  better 
quality  of  tone  than  others  (e.gr.,  the  B-flat  clarinet 
soimds  better  than  the  C  clarinet) ;  and  second,  because 


THE  ORCHESTRAL  CONDUCTOR  101 

it  is  easier  to  play  in  keys  having  a  smaller  number  of 
sharps  and  flats,  and  by  transposing  the  parts  to  other 
keys,  we  can  usually  get  rid  of  several  sharps  or  flats. 

In  the  case  of  performers  on  the  clarinet,  each  player 
is  necessarily  provided  with  two  instruments  (an  A  and 
a  B-flat — the  C  clarinet  being  almost  obsolete,  and  the 
E-flat  being  used  only  in  military  bands) ;  but  in  playing 
upon  the  brass  wind  instruments  the  same  instrument 
may  be  tuned  in  various  keys,  either  by  means  of  a  tun- 
ing slide  or  by  inserting  separate  shanks  or  crooks,  these 
latter  being  merely  additional  lengths  of  tubing  by  the 
insertion  of  which  the  total  length  of  the  tube  constitut- 
ing the  instrument  may  be  increased,  thus  throwing  its 
fundamental  pitch  into  a  lower  key. 

In  order  to  gain  facility  in  dealing  with  transposed 
parts,  the  amateur  is  advised  to  try  his  hand  at-arranging 
simple  music  (hymn  tunes,  folk  songs,  easy  piano  pieces, 
et  cetera)  for  his  group  of  players,  transposing  the  parts 
for  clarinets,  comets,  e^  cetera,  into  the  appropriate  keys. 
In  this  way  he  will  also  get  an  insight  into  the  mysteries 
of  instrumental  combination  that  cannot  be  secured  in 
any  other  way. 

PITCH  The  first  difficulty  that  the  conductor  of 

STANDARDS  j^j^  amateur  ensemble  group  usually  en- 
counters is  that  the  instruments  owned  by 
his  players  are  tuned  according  to  various  pitch  stand- 
ards; and  he  is  very  likely  to  find  at  his  first  rehearsal 
that  his  first-clarinet  player  has  an  instrument  tuned  in 
"high  pitch,"  i.e.,  what  is  commonly  known  as  concert 
pitch  (about  one  half  step  above  standard),  while  his 
second-clarinet  player  has  an  instrument  in  "low  pitch," 
i.e.,  international,  a'  having  435  vibrations  per  second. 
(There  is  also  a  third  pitch  which  is  used  by  many  of  the 
standard  symphony  orchestras — this  pitch  being  based 
upon  a  vibration  rate  of  440  for  a')-  If  the  conductor 
attempts  to  have  his  orchestra  perform  under  these  con- 


102  ESSENTIALS   IN    CONDUCTING 

ditions,  disaster  will  surely  overtake  him,  and  he  will  not 
only  find  his  ears  suffering  tortures,  but  will  be  more 
than  likely  to  hear  uncomplimentary  remarks  from  the 
neighbors,  and  will  be  fortunate  indeed  not  to  be  ordered 
on  to  the  next  block  or  the  next  town  by  the  police  force! 
The  diflBculty  arises,  of  course,  because  the  oboe,  English 
horn,  clarinet,  and  other  wood-wind  instruments  are 
built  in  a  certain  fixed  pitch,  and  since  the  length  of  the 
tube  cannot  be  altered,  they  must  either  play  in  the 
pitch  intended  or  else  not  at  all.  In  the  case  of  the 
clarinet  and  flute,  the  pitch  can  be  altered  a  very  little 
by  pulHng  out  one  of  the  joints  slightly  (the  tube  is  made 
in  several  sections)  thus  making  the  total  length  slightly 
greater  and  the  pitch  correspondingly  lower;  but  when 
this  is  done  the  higher  tones  are  very  apt  to  be  out  of 
tune,  and  in  general,  if  the  player  has  an  instrument 
tuned  in  high  pitch,  he  cannot  play  with  an  ensemble 
group  having  low-pitched  instruments,  especially  when 
the  piano  supplies  the  fundamental  harmony.  In  the 
case  of  the  brass  instruments,  a  tuning  slide  is  usually 
provided,  and  the  same  instrument  can  therefore  be 
utilized  in  either  low  or  high  pitch  combinations.* 

TUNING  The  conductor  of  an  amateur  ensemble 
group  will  find  it  very  greatly  to  his  advan- 
tage to  be  able  to  tune  the  various  instruments,  or  at 
least  to  help  the  players  to  do  it  accurately.  This  in- 
volves not  merely  a  mechanical  knowledge  of  what  to 
do  to  the  instrument  to  change  its  pitch,  but,  what  is 
much  more  important,  a  very  high  degree  of  pitch  dis- 
crimination on  the  conductor's  part.  It  is  at  this  latter 
point  that  assistance  is  most  often  necessary,  and  the 
conductor  who  can  tell  his  comet  player  when  he  is  just 

♦  "High  pitch"  is  employed  mostly  in  bands;  the  reason  for  its  use  being  thiit  the 
•wind  instruments  are  much  more  brilliant  when  tuned  to  the  higher  pitch.  1 1  is  eiKM>urag- 
ing  to  \te  able  to  state,  however,  that  more  and  more  instruments  are  being  built  in 
"philharmonic  pitch"  (u'  440),  and  the  conductor  who  is  organizing  a  band  or  orchestra 
is  advised  to  see  to  it  that  all  players  who  are  purchasing  new  instruments  insist  upon 
having  them  built  in  this  pilch. 


\ 


THE  ORCHESTRAL  CONDUCTOR  103 

a  shade  high  or  low,  and  can  determine  precisely  when  the 
violinist  has  his  strings  tuned  to  an  absolutely  perfect 
fifth,  will  have  far  less  trouble  with  out-of-tune  playing 
than  otherwise ;  for  a  great  deal  of  sharping  and  flatting 
(particularly  in  the  case  of  wind  instruments)  is  the  re- 
sult of  inaccurate  tuning. 

BOWING  Since  an  orchestra  contains  such  a  large  propor- 
tion of  stringed  instruments  it  will  be  very 
greatly  to  the  interest  of  the  conductor  to  take  up  the  study 
of  some  instrument  belonging  to  the  violin  family,  and  to 
learn  to  play  it  at  least  a  little.  If  this  is  altogether  im- 
practicable at  the  beginning,  the  next  best  thing  for  him 
to  do  is  to  study  bowing,  learning  not  only  the  bowing 
signs  and  their  meaning,  but  familiarizing  himself  thor- 
oughly with  the  principles  underlying  the  art.  For  this 
purpose  some  good  work  on  bowing  should  be  studied, 
but  meanwhile  a  few  words  on  the  subject  at  this  point 
will  give  the  absolute  beginner  at  least  a  small  amount  of 
indispensable  information.  The  signs  commonly  em- 
ployed in  music  for  violin,  viola,  violoncello,  and  double- 
bass,  to  indicate  various  manners  of  bowing,  are  as 
follows : 

~  Down-bow:  i.e.,  from  nut  to  point. 

V  Ilp-bow:  i.e.,  from  point  to  nut. 

'"  ">%  Slurred:  i.e.,  all  notes  under  the  sign  played  in  one  bow. 

f .  .  .  ,  ."^  Staccato:  i.e.,  all  notes  in  one  bow,  but  the  tones  separated. 

The  ordinary  staccato  mark  ( *  or  ' )  means  a  long  quick 
stroke,  either  up  or  down  as  the  case  may  be.  The  ab- 
sence of  slurs  indicates  a  separate  stroke  of  the  bow  for 
each  tone.  Sometimes  the  player  is  directed  to  use  the 
lower  half,  the  upper  half,  or  the  middle  of  the  bow,  such 
directions  being  given  by  printing  the  words  "lower 
half,"  et  cetera,  above  the  pas.sage,  or  by  giving  the  ini- 
tials of  these  words  (sometimes  in  German).  When  no 
bowing  is  indicated,  a  phrase  beginning  with  a  weak 
beat  commonly  has  an  up-bow  for  the  first  tone,  while 


104  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

one  beginning  on  a  strong  beat  has  a  down-bow;  but  this 
principle  has  many  exceptions.  It  is  perhaps  needless  to 
state  that  correct  phrasing  in  the  case  of  the  stringed  in- 
struments depends  upon  the  employment  of  suitable  bow- 
ing; and  since  the  first  violin  part  is  most  prominent  and 
most  important  in  orchestral  music,  it  becomes  the  busi- 
ness of  the  conductor  to  observe  most  carefully  the  bow- 
ing of  his  concert-master  and  to  confer  with  him  about 
possible  changes  in  bowing  wherever  necessary.  It  will 
save  a  great  deal  of  confusion  if  players  understand  that 
the  bowing  is  to  be  exactly  as  indicated  in  the  score  unless 
a  change  is  definitely  made.  The  first  player  in  each 
group  in  point  of  position  on  the  platform  is  called  the 
"principal,"  and  is  supposed  to  be  the  most  skilful  per- 
former in  that  section;  and  he  is  responsible,  in  confer- 
ence with  the  conductor  when  necessary,  for  selecting  the 
best  bowing,  et  cetera,  all  others  in  the  group  watching 
him,  and  all  phrasing  as  he  does.  In  actual  practice,  this 
means  that  the  players  at  the  second  desk  bow  like  those 
at  the  first,  those  at  the  third  desk  follow  those  at 
the  second,  et  cetera.  Absolute  uniformity  is  thus  se- 
cured in  each  section.  It  should  perhaps  be  remarked 
at  this  point  that  when  different  groups  are  playing  the 
same  phrase,  e.g.,  violoncellos  and  basses,  or  second  vio- 
lins and  violas,  the  bowing  must  be  uniform  in  the  two 
sections,  if  absolute  uniformity  of  phrasing  is  to  result. 

In  addition  to  the  bowing  signs  explained  on  page  103, 
the  conductor  should  also  be  familiar  with  certain  other 
directions  commonly  found  in  music  for  stringed  instru- 
ments. Some  of  the  most  important  of  these,  together 
with  their  explanations,  are  therefore  added. 

Pizzicato  {pizz.)  (pluck  the  string  instead  of  bowing) 

Col  arco  (or  areo)  (play  with  the  bow  again) 

Con  sordino,  or      \    ,   _      ,  ,     ,    . ,     x 

.  J .  f   (affix  the  mute  to  the  bndgei 

Avec  sourdine        J 

Senza  sordino,  or       1 
-  o  J  •  f    (remove  the  mute) 

bans  sourdine  I  ' 


THE  ORCHESTRAL  CONDUCTOR  105 

Divisi  (div.)  (divide,  i.e.,  let  some  of  the  players  take  one  of  the  two 
tones  indicated  and  the  remainder  of  them  the  other  one.  This 
direction  is  of  course  used  only  in  case  two  or  more  notes  appear 
on  the  staff  for  simultaneous  performance.  It  is  customary  to 
divide  such  passages  by  having  the  players  seated  on  the  side 
next  the  audience  take  the  higher  tone,  while  the  others  take  the 
lower.  If  the  section  is  to  be  divided  into  more  than  two  parts, 
the  conductor  must  designate  who  is  to  play  the  various  tones.) 

SCORE  Reading  an  orchestral  score  is  a  matter  for 
READING  ^Y^Q  professional  rather  than  for  the  amateur; 
and  yet  the  great  increase  during  recent  years  in  the 
number  of  amateur  orchestras  probably  means  that 
more  and  more  of  these  groups  will  continue  their  prac- 
tice until  they  are  able  to  play  a  more  difficult  class  of 
music — this  involving  the  necessity  on  the  part  of  their 
conductors  of  learning  to  read  an  orchestral  score.  For 
this  reason  a  few  suggestions  upon  score  reading  are 
added  as  a  final  paragraph  in  this  chapter,  and  an  ex- 
ample of  a  score  is  supplied  at  the  end  of  the  bogk — 
Appendix  B  (p.  166.) 

The  main  difficulties  involved  in  reading  a  full  score 
are:  first,  training  the  eye  to  read  from  a  number  of 
staffs  simultaneously  and  assembling  the  tones  (in  the 
mind  or  at  the  keyboard)  into  chords;  and  second,  trans- 
posing into  the  actual  key  of  the  composition  those  parts 
which  have  been  written  in  other  keys  and  including 
these  as  a  part  of  the  harmonic  structure.  This  latter 
difficulty  may  be  at  least  partially  overcome  by  practice 
in  arranging  material  for  orchestra  as  recommended  on 
page  101;  but  for  the  first  part  of  the  task,  extensive 
practice  in  reading  voices  on  several  staffs  is  necessary. 
The  student  who  is  ambitious  to  become  an  orchestral 
conductor  is  therefore  advised,  in  the  first  place,  not 
to  neglect  his  Bach  during  the  p>eriod  when  he  is  study- 
ing the  piano,  but  to  work  assiduously  at  the  two-  and 
three-part  inventions  and  at  the  fugues.  He  may  then 
purchase  miniature  scores  of  some  of  the  string  quartets 


106  ESSENTIALS  IN   CONDUCTING 

by  Haydn,  Mozart,  and  Beethoven,  training  himself  to 
read  all  four  parts  simultaneously,  sometimes  merely 
trying  to  hear  mentally  the  successive  harmonies  as  he 
looks  at  the  score,  but  most  often  playing  the  parts  on 
the  piano.  After  mastering  four  voices  in  this  way,  he  is 
ready  to  begin  on  one  of  the  slow  movements  of  a  Haydn 
symphony. 

In  examining  an  orchestral  score,  it  will  be  noted  at 
once  that  the  string  parts  are  always  together  at  the 
bottom  of  the  page,  while  the  wood-wind  material  is  at 
the  top.  Since  the  strings  furnish  the  most  important 
parts  of  the  harmonic  structure  for  so  much  of  the  time, 
our  amateur  will  at  first  play  only  the  string  parts,  with 
the  possible  addition  of  the  flute,  oboe,  and  certain  other 
non-transposed  voices  a  little  later  on.  But  as  he  gains 
facility  he  will  gFadually  be  able  to  take  in  all  the  parts 
and  to  include  at  least  a  sort  of  summary  of  them  all  in 
his  playing.  The  student  is  advised  to  purchase  a  number 
of  the  Haydn  and  Mozart  symphonies  either  in  the  form 
of  pocket  editions  or  in  the  regular  conductor's  score, 
and  to  practise  on  these  until  he  feels  quite  sure  of  him- 
self. By  this  time  he  will  be  ready  to  try  his  hand  at  a 
modem  score,  which  will  be  found  not  only  to  contain 
parts  for  more  instruments,  but  many  more  divided  parts 
for  the  strings.  Meanwhile,  he  is,  of  course,  taking  every 
possible  opportunity  of  attending  concerts  given  by  sym- 
phony orchestras,  and  is  begging,  borrowing,  or  buying 
the  scores  of  as  many  of  the  compositions  as  possible, 
studying  them  in  advance,  and  taking  keen  delight  in 
following  them  at  the  performance;  perhaps  even  imag- 
ining himself  to  be  the  conductor,  and  having  visions  of 
changes  in  interpretation  that  he  would  like  to  make  if 
he  were  directing.  As  the  result  of  several  years  of  this 
sort  of  study,  even  an  amateur  may  get  to  the  point 
where  he  is  able  to  conduct  an  orchestra  from  a  full 
score  with  some  degree  of  skill,  and  hence  with  some  little 
satisfaction  both  to  himself  and  to  the  performers. 


THE  ORCHESTRAL  CONDUCTOR 


107 


.TABLE  "SHOWING  RANGES  OF  ORCHEHTRAL  INSTRUMENTS 


Ranfe  of  Wood  Wind 

Section 


Range  of  Brass  Wind 
Section 


Ran^  of  String 
Section 

s 


Range  of  Cntir* 
Orchestra 


* 


ycttt  The  arrangement  of  Instruinents  here  indN 
-cated  1ft  essentiaUy  that  found  in  a  modern  orch* 
estral  score.  The  ranges  given  represent  practical 
orchestral  usage.  Additional  tones  possible  for 
highly  skilled  performers  or  on  instruments  with 
certain  special  keys  (like  the  low  1  of  the  flute)' 
•re  shows  la  brackets. 


CHAPTER  XI 

Directing  the  Church  Choir 

THE  In  taking  up  the  special  problems  of  con- 

PROBLEM  ducting  involved  in  directing  a  church  choir, 
we  shall  first  of  all  need  to  consider  the  dual 
nature  of  church  music — its  religio-artistic  aspect,  and 
in  studying  the  matter  from  this  standpoint  we  shall 
soon  discover  that  most  of  the  difficulties  that  have  en- 
compassed church  music  in  the  past  can  be  traced  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  to  a  conflict  or  a  lack  of  balance  be- 
tween these  two  factors.  The  churchman  has  not 
been  sufficiently  interested  in  the  art  side  of  church 
music,  while  the  music  director,  organist,  and  singers 
have  all  too  frequently  been  not  only  entirely  out  of  sym- 
pathy with  the  religious  work  of  the  church,  but  have 
usually  been  wholly  ignorant  concerning  the  purpose 
and  possibilities  of  music  in  the  church  service.  The 
result  in  most  churches  at  the  present  time  is  either  that 
the  music  is  vapid  or  even  offensive  from  the  art  stand- 
point; or  else  that  it  emphasizes  the  purely  artistic  side 
so  strongly  that  it  entirely  fails  to  perform  its  function 
as  an  integral  part  of  a  service  whose  raison  d'etre  is, 
of  course,  to  inculcate  religious  feeling.  "The  church 
wishes  for  worship  in  music,  but  not  for  the  worship  of 
music,"  is  said  to  have  been  the  statement  of  Father 
Haberl  at  the  Saint  Cecilia  Conference  in  Mainz 
(1884).*  And  it  is  indeed  a  far  cry  from  this  demand  to 
the  very  evident  deification  of  music  that  exists  in  many 
of  our  modem  city  churches,  with  their  expensive  soloists 
and  their  utter  failure  to  cause  music  to  minister  as  "the 

*  Quoted  by  Curwea  on  tlie  title  page  of  Studies  in  Worship  Music  (second  series). 


DIRECTING  THE  CHURCH  CHOIR  109 

handmaid  of  religion."  The  problem  is  not  a  new  one, 
and  in  a  book  written  about  a  century  ago  the  author 
says:* 

The  guiding  rule  which  ought  always  to  be  present  to  the  mind  of  a  clergy- 
man should  also  be  held  in  mind  by  all  good  musicians  who  would  help  the 
church's  object,  and  not  employ  the  sacred  building  merely  as  a  place  where 
all  kind  of  sounds  that  tickle  the  ear  can  be  heard.  All  kinds  of  music  are 
suitable  for  sacred  use  that  do  not  raise  secular  associations.  A  Largo,  an 
Adagio,  a  Grave,  an  Andante,  an  Allegro,  a  fugal  or  a  non-fugal  composition 
can  all  be  performed  in  the  Church  but  should  one  and  all  be  of  a  staid  and 
dignified  character  throughout,  elevated  and  sober,  and  of  such  a  nature  that 
any  preacher  of  note  could  say:  "This  splendid  music  is  a  fitting  introduction 
to  my  discourse";  or  "After  such  singing  my  lips  had  better  be  closed,  and 
the  spirit  left  to  its  own  silent  worship." 

A  distinguished  modem  writer  voices  the  same  thought 
in  the  following  words:* 

The  singing  of  the  choir  must  be  contrived  and  felt  as  part  of  the  office  of 
prayer.  The  spirit  and  direction  of  the  whole  service  for  the  day  must  be 
unified;  the  music  must  be  a  vital  and  organic  element  in  this  unit. 

But  in  most  churches  music  does  not  function  in  this 
ideal  way  and  in  many  cases  (especially  in  non-liturgical 
churches)  there  is  no  unity  whatever  in  the  service,  and 
the  music  is  evidently  both  performed  and  listened  to 
from  a  purely  art  standpoint;  or  else  it  is  so  crude  and 
inartistic  as  to  be  actually  painful  to  the  worshiper  with 
refined  sensibilities. 

THE  What  is  to  be  the  remedy  for  this  state  of 

REMEDY  affairs.'^  Or  is  there  no  remedy,  and  must  we 
go  on,  either  enduring  tortures  artistically,  or  suffering 
spiritually?  We  are  not  omniscient,  but  we  venture  to 
assert  that  conditions  might  be  caused  to  improve  by  the 
adoption  of  several  changes  of  procedure  that  are  herewith 
recommended. 

1.  Educate  the  minister  musically  during  his  general  and  professional 
training,  causing  him  not  only  to  acquire  a  certain  amount  of  technical  musical 
ability,  but  attempting  also  to  cultivate  in  him  that  intangible  something 

*  Thibaut,  Purity  in  Music,  translated  by  Broadhousc,  p.  24. 

*  Dickinson,  Music  in  the  History  of  the  Western  Church,  p.  401. 


110  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

which  we  call  musical  taste.  A  few  seminaries — notably  the  Hartford  Theo- 
logical Seminary  and  the  Boston  University  Department  of  Religious  Educa- 
tion— are  doing  pioneer  work  along  this  line,  but  they  are  the  exception  rather 
than  the  rule,  and  the  thing  must  be  done  by  all  if  the  desired  result  is  to  obtain 
in  the  future. 

2.  Encourage  the  organization  of  chorus  choirs  composed  largely  of 
those  who  belong  to  or  attend  the  church  and  are  therefore  vitally  interested 
in  its  work. 

3.  Select  more  churchly  music,  i.e.,  a  type  of  music  which  when  appro- 
priately rendered  will  tend  to  bring  about  a  mood  of  worship.  This  will  often 
mean  a  simpler  style  of  music;  it  may  mean  more  a  cappella  singing;  and  it  un- 
doubtedly implies  music  that  is  fundamentally  sincere.  That  many  of  our 
modern  sacred  solos  and  anthems  fail  in  this  latter  respect  must  be  evident  to 
any  one  who  has  given  the  matter  any  thought  whatever. 

4.  Let  the  church  make  an  attempt  to  secure  as  its  musical  director  one 
who  possesses  a  type  of  seriousness  and  high-mindedness  that  will  make  him 
sympathetic  with  what  the  church  is  trying  to  do,  thus  enabling  him  to  minis- 
ter to  the  people  through  music  even  as  the  priest  or  preacher  does  through 
words  of  consolation  or  inspiration.  We  admit  that  this  sort  of  a  man  (who 
is  at  the  same  time  unimpeachable  in  his  musical  authority)  is  often  hard  to 
find;  but  that  the  two  elements  are  incompatible,  and  that  such  a  type  of 
choir  director  cannot  be  trained,  we  absolutely  refuse  to  believe.  If  the 
church  suflSciently  recognizes  the  failure  of  music  as  now  frequently  admin- 
istered, and  makes  a  strong  enough  demand  for  leaders  of  a  different  type, 
they  are  bound  to  be  forthcoming. 

CORRELATING  THE  Having  trained  our  minister  from 

MUSIC  WITH  THE  ^^  musical  standpoint,  organized 

REST  OF  THE  SERVICE     ^  ^^^^^^  ^^^j^^   ^,^j^j  ^pp^^. 

priate  music,  and  secured  the  right  type  of  choir  leader, 
let  us  now  make  a  strenuous  attempt  to  correlate  the 
musical  with  the  non-musical  parts  of  the  service;  and 
if  we  succeed  in  our  effort  at  this  point  also,  our  task 
will  be  at  least  in  sight  of  completion.  This  desirable 
correlation  will  only  result  if  both  minister  and  musician 
are  willing  to  work  together  amicably,  each  recognizing 
the  rights  of  the  other,  and  both  willing  to  give  in  upon 
occasion  in  order  to  make  the  service  as  a  whole  work 
out  more  smoothly.  Many  humorous  stories  are  told, 
the  point  of  which  is  based  upon  the  absolute  incongruity 
of  the  various  parts  of  the  church  service.    The  writer 


DIRECTING  THE  CHURCH  CHOIR  111 

remembers  most  vividly  an  incident  that  occurred  during 
the  first  year  of  the  Great  War,  in  the  church  in  which  he 
was  at  that  time  the  choirmaster.  The  choir  had  just 
finished  singing  an  anthem  written  by  an  English  com- 
poser as  a  prayer  for  peace,*  the  concluding  strains  being 
sung  to  the  words  "Give  peace,  O  God,  give  peace 
again!  Amen."  As  the  choir  sat  down,  after  an  effec- 
tive rendition  of  the  anthem,  there  was  a  hush  in  the 
congregation,  showing  that  the  message  of  the  music  had 
gone  home  to  the  hearers.  But  a  moment  later  the  spell 
was  rudely  broken,  as  the  minister  rose,  and  in  a  stento- 
rian voice  proclaimed  the  text  of  the  day — "For  I  come 
not  to  bring  peace  into  the  world,  but  a  sword." 

The  responsibility  in  this  case  rested  as  much  upon 
the  shoulders  of  the  choir  director  as  upon  those  of  the 
preacher,  for  he  should  at  least  have  taken  the  trouble 
to  acquaint  his  coworker  with  the  nature  of  the  anthem, 
so  that  some  reference  might  have  been  made  to  the 
subject  in  either  the  prayer  or  scripture  reading  or  in 
some  of  the  hymns,  if  not  in  the  sermon  itself.  It 
is  perhaps  not  always  feasible  to  have  sermon  .and  anthem 
agree  absolutely  in  subject,  but  it  is  entirely  possible  to 
avoid  such  occurrences  as  that  cited  above,  if  even  a 
small  amount  of  thought  is  given  to  the  matter  of  cor- 
relation each  week.  Surely  the  choir  leader  could  at 
least  provide  the  minister  with  the  titles  of  the  anthems 
and  solos  to  be  rendered. 

DIFFICULTIES  In  advocating  a  return  to  the  volun- 

INVOLVED  IN  THE  ^^^  chonis  choir  instead  of  the  sala- 
ried solo  quartet,  we  are  well  aware 
of  the  disadvantages  that  are  likely  to  accompany  any 
attempt  along  this  hne.  We  know  that  the  chorus  choir 
composed  of  volunteers  is  often  poorly  balanced,  usually 
contains  for  the  most  part  indifferent  voices  and  often 
unskilful   readers,    and   frequently   consists   largely   of 

♦  John  E.  West,  O  God  of  Love,  O  King  of  Peace. 


112  ESSENTIALS  IN  CONDUCTING 

giddy  young  girls,  whose  main  object  in  singing  in  the 
choir  is  obviously  not  based  upon  their  interest  in  the 
spiritual  advancement  of  the  community!  But  we  be- 
lieve that  under  the  right  tj-pe  of  leadership  most  of 
these  bad  conditions  vnl\  in  time  disappear,  and  that, 
through  the  chorus  choir,  music  may  well  become  a 
vitalizing  force  in  the  Hfe  of  many  a  church  in  which  a 
revitahzing  process  is  badly  needed. 

In  order  to  make  ourselves  perfectly  clear,  let  us  sum- 
marize at  this  point  the  qualifications  especially  needed 
by  the  conductor  of  a  volunteer  church  chorus. 

1.  He  must  be  a  reasonably  good  musician,  possessing  not  only  familiarity 
with  music  in  general,  but  in  particular  an  intimate  knowledge  of  vocal  music, 
and  knowing  at  least  the  fundamentab  of  voice  training. 

2.  He  must  understand  the  purpose  of  church  music,  and  must  be  in 
sympathy  with  the  religious  work  of  the  church. 

3.  He  must  be  young  in  spirit,  and  thus  be  able  to  take  a  sympathetic 
attitude  toward  the  members  of  his  choir  as  human  beings,  and  particularly 
as  human  beings  who  are  still  young,  inexperienced,  and  frequently  thought- 
less. This  implies,  of  course,  a  certain  amoimt  of  personal  magnetism  and  this 
is  as  necessary  in  the  volunteer  choir  for  holding  the  membership  together  and 
securing  r^ular  attendance  as  it  is  for  inspiring  them  musically*. 

THE  DANGER  OF  Oneof  the  chief  difficulties  encountered 
INDIVIDUALISM  ^  more  or  less  all  choral  organizations, 
and  esj)ecially  in  the  volunteer  church 
choir,  IS  the  tendency  on  the  part  of  many  members  to 
do  all  they  possibly  can  in  the  way  of  dress,  actions,  loud 
singing,  and  lack  of  voice  blending,  to  call  attention  to 
themselves  as  individuals.  This  not  only  results  in 
frequent  offense  to  the  eye  of  the  worship)er  because  of 
clashing  color  combinations  (the  remedy  for  which  is, 
of  course,  some  uniform  method  of  dressing  or  jjerhaps  a 
vestment),  but  what  is  even  more  serious,  it  often  causes 
a  lack  of  voice  blending  that  seriously  interferes  with  both 
the  religious  and  the  artistic  effect  of  the  music.  For 
this  latter  state  of  affairs  there  is  no  remedy  except  to 
learn  to  listen  to  individual  voices,  and  when  some  voice 


DIRECT  I SU   THE  CHURCH  CHOIR  113 

does  not  l>loiid  with  the  rest,  to  let  tlie  person  who  owns 
it  know  that  he  must  either  sing  very  softly  or  else  stop 
entirely.  This  can  often  be  accomplished  by  a  look  in  the 
direction  of  the  singer  who  is  causing  the  trouble;  but 
if  this  does  not  suffice,  then  a  private  admonition  may  be 
necessarj' — and  here  we  have  a  situation  in  which  the 
diplomacy  and  the  good  humor  of  the  conductor  must  be 
exercised  to  the  utmost,  esj>ecially  if  the  offending  voice 
belongs  to  a  prominent  member  of,  and  perhaps  a  liberal 
contributor  to,  the  church.  In  such  a  case,  one  may 
sometimes,  without  unduly  compromising  one's  reputa- 
tion for  veracity,  inform  the  offending  member  that  his 
method  of  singing  is  verj'  bad  indeed  for  his  voice,  and  if 
persisted  in  will  surely  ruin  that  organ! 

Needless  to  say,  the  conductor  must  exercise  the  ut- 
most tactfulness  in  dealing  with  such  matters  as  these, 
but  it  is  our  belief  that  if  he  insists  strongly  enough  in  the 
rehearsal  upon  a  unified  body  of  tone  from  each  part, 
and  backs  this  up  by  private  conversations  with  indiWd- 
ual  members,  with  perhaps  a  free  lesson  or  two  in  correct 
voice  placement,  or  even  the  elimination  of  one  or  two 
utterly  hoj^eless  voices,  a  fine  quality  of  voice  blending 
will  eventually  result.  It  might  be  remarked  at  this 
point  that  such  desirable  homogeneity  of  tone  will  only 
eventuate  if  each  individual  member  of  the  choir  becomes 
willing  to  submerge  his  own  voice  in  the  total  effect  of 
his  part;  and  that  learning  to  give  way  in  this  fashion  for 
the  sake  of  t  he  larger  good  of  the  entire  group  is  one  of  the 
most  valuable  scK^ial  lessons  to  be  learned  by  the  young 
men  and  women  of  totlay.  It  is  the  business  of  the 
choir  leader  to  drive  home  this  lesson  whenever  neces- 
sary. It  is  also  his  task  to  see  to  it  that  no  member  of  his 
clioir  by  his  actions  causes  any  interference  with  the 
worship  of  the  congregation.  In  plain  sp>eech,  it  is  his 
duty  to  see  to  it  that  choir  members  conduct  themselves 
in  a  manner  apjiropriate  to  their  position,  and  tliat  they 
do  not  by  whis^x^ring,  laughing,  note  writing,  and  other 


114  ESSENTIALS    IN   CONDUCTING 

similar  frivolities,  hinder  in  any  way  the  develop- 
ment of  a  spirit  of  reverent  devotion  on  the  part  of  the 
congregation. 

SOLO  SINGING  Another  type  of  undesirable  individu- 
IN  THE  CHURCH  aHsm  is  to  be  found  in  the  case  of  the 
church  solo  singer.  We  have  no  quar- 
rel with  the  sacred  solo  when  sung  in  such  a  way  as  to 
move  the  hearts  of  the  congregation  to  a  more  sincere 
attitude  of  devotion;  and  we  are  entirely  wilhng  to 
grant  that  the  sacred  solo  has  the  inherent  possibility  of 
becoming  as  pregnant  with  reHgious  fervor  as  the  sermon 
itself,  and  may  indeed,  because  of  its  esthetic  and  emo- 
tional appeal,  convey  a  message  of  comfort  or  of  inspira- 
tion to  many  a  heart  that  might  remain  untouched  by 
the  appeal  of  a  merely  intellectual  sermon.  But  it  has 
been  our  observation  that  the  usual  church  solo  very  sel- 
dom functions  in  this  way;  that  the  singer  usually  con- 
siders it  only  as  an  opportunity  to  show  how  well  he  can 
perform;  that  he  seldom  thinks  very  much  about  the 
words;  that  the  selections  are  usually  not  chosen  be- 
cause they  are  appropriate  to  the  remainder  of  the  ser- 
vice but  because  they  are  "effective"  or  perhaps  because 
they  are  well  adapted  to  the  voice  or  the  style  of  the 
singer;  and  that  our  congregations  have  grown  so  ac- 
customed to  this  sort  of  thing  that  the  performance  of  a 
sacred  solo  is  now  usually  listened  to,  commented  upon, 
and  criticized  in  exactly  the  same  way  in  the  church 
service  as  would  be  the  case  at  a  concert  performance. 

Instead  of  thinking,  "I  am  delivering  a  message,** 
the  singer  is  only  too  palpably  saying  to  us,  "/  am  sing- 
ing a  soloy  don't  you  think  I  am  doing  it  well.?" 

The  remedy  for  this  condition  of  affairs  is  the  same  as 
that  which  we  have  been  recommending  for  church 
music  in  general,  and  before  church  solo  singing  can  be 
commended  in  very  glowing  terms  as  a  method  of  assist- 


DIRECTING  THE  CHURCH  CHOIR  115 

iiig  the  congregation  to  become  more  thoughtful,  more 
fervent  in  their  devotional  attitude,  we  must  have: 

1.  More  appropriate  selections. 

2.  A  more  sincerely  reverent  and  a  more  thoroughly  non-egoistic  attitude 
on  the  part  of  the  soloists. 

Because  these  things  are  so  difficult  of  attainment  under 
present  conditions  our  feeHng  is  that,  all  in  all,  chorus 
music  is  probably  considerably  more  effective  as  a  ve- 
hicle for  making  a  religio-esthetic  appeal,  than  solo 
singing. 


MUSIC   AS  RELATED 
TO  CHURCH  CHOIRS 


PROGRESS  IN  The  public  schools  are  doing  very 

r^^^i^  .^^^??^rw,„T^  much  more  in  the  way  of  teaching 
music  than  formerly,  and  in  many 
places  consistent  work  is  being 
carried  on  as  the  result  of  which  the  children  now  in 
school  are  learning  to  read  music  notation  somewhat 
fluently,  to  use  their  voices  correctly,  and  are  culti- 
vating as  well  a  certain  amount  of  taste  in  music. 
Because  of  this  musical  activity  in  the  public  schools, 
our  task  of  organizing  and  directing  volunteer  church 
choirs  should  be  very  much  simplified  in  the  near 
future.  Community  singing  will  help  at  this  point 
also,  and  the  very  much  larger  number  of  boys  and 
girls  who  are  receiving  training  as  the  result  of  the  devel- 
opment of  high  school  music,  ought  to  make  it  consider- 
ably easier  to  secure  the  right  type  of  choir  director  in 
the  future  than  has  been  the  case  in  the  past.  As  a 
result  of  the  present  widespread  interest  in  music  and 
music  study,  it  should  be  possible  also  to  get  very  much 
better  congregational  singing,  and  withal  to  interest  the 
congregation  (and  the  preacher!)  in  a  better  type  of 
music.  All  in  all,  the  outlook  is  extremely  promising 
and  we  venture  to  predict  a  great  improvement  in  all 
that  pertains  to  church  music  during  the  next  quarter 
century. 


116  ESSENTIALS  IN   CONDUCTING 

IMI^ORTANCE  OF  Let  US  close  this  discussion  by  urg- 
CONGREGATIONAL  jjjg  the  choir  director  to  remember 
that  the  most  important  music,  at 
least  in  the  Protestant  church,  is  the  congregational 
singing;  and  to  consider  the  fact  that  if  music  is  to  help 
people  worship  without  becoming  a  substitute  for  wor- 
ship, it  will  be  necessary  for  him  not  only  to  inspire  his 
choir  with  high  ideals  of  church  music,  but  also  to  devise 
means  of  inducing  the  congregation  to  take  part  in 
the  singing  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  is  now  the 
case  in  most  churches.  It  is  usually  true  that  the  finer 
the  choir,  and  the  more  elaborate  the  accompaniment, 
the  less  hearty  is  the  congregational  singing.  If  there 
is  to  be  steady  growth  in  the  efficiency  of  chorus  choirs, 
therefore,  it  will  not  be  surprising  if  congregational  sing- 
ing sometimes  falls  off  in  volume  and  enthusiasm. 
The  reasons  for  such  a  decline  are:  First,  because  the 
people  take  no  responsibility  for  the  singing,  knowing 
that  it  will  go  well  whether  they  join  in  or  not;  second, 
because  the  choir  often  sings  so  well  that  the  people 
would  rather  listen  than  take  part;  third,  because  the 
director  frequently  stands  with  his  back  to  the  con- 
gregation and  apparently  does  not  expect  much  singing 
from  them;  and  fourth,  because  the  choir  leader  often 
insists  upon  a  highly  musical  interpretation  of  the 
hymns,  this  involving  the  carrying  over  of  phrases,  et 
cetera.  These  latter  things  may  well  be  done  after  a 
long  period  of  training,  but  in  the  early  stages  the  way 
to  arouse  interest  in  congregational  singing  is  not  to 
insist  too  strongly  upon  the  purely  artistic  aspects,  but 
to  remember  that  most  of  the  congregation  are  musically 
untrained  and  not  only  do  not  see  the  point  to  all  these 
refinements,  but  will  frequently  become  discouraged  and 
stop  singing  entirely  if  too  many  of  them  are  insisted 
upon.  It  will  be  well  also  to  apply  to  -this  type  of  group 
singing  the  principles  already  discussed  in  connection 
with  community  "sings,"  having  the  congregation  sing 


DIRECTING  THE  CHURCH  CHOIR  117 

alone  part  of  the  time,  having  a  stanza  sung  as  a  solo 
occasionally,  making  use  of  antiphonal  effects,  and  in 
other  ways  introducing  variety  and  placing  more  respon- 
sibility upon  the  congregation;  and,  most  important  of 
all,  calling  attention  more  frequently  to  the  words  of 
the  hymns,  either  the  preacher  or  the  choir  leader  some- 
times giving  the  stories  of  their  origin,  and  in  other  ways 
attempting  to  interest  the  congregation  in  the  meaning 
of  the  hymn  as  a  poem.  Perhaps  a  more  careful  selec- 
tion of  the  hymns  would  help  also,  especially  if  a  con- 
sistent attempt  were  to  be  made  to  give  the  congre- 
gation an  opportunity  of  practising  the  more  musical 
tunes,  so  that  they  would  come  to  feel  familiar  with 
them  and  at  ease  in  singing  them.  If  the  choir  direc- 
tor will  take  the  trouble  to  go  through  the  hymn  book 
and  select  forty  or  fifty  really  fine  hymns  and  tunes 
that  are  not  being  used,  suggesting  to  the  minister  that 
these  be  sung  sometimes  in  connection  with  the  more 
famiHar  ones,  he  will  very  often  find  the  minister  more 
than  wilHng  to  meet  him  half  way  in  the  matter.  In 
these  various  ways  the  choir  leader  and  the  minister 
may  by  consistent  cooperation  inspire  the  congregation 
to  the  point  where  the  vocal  response  is  as  hearty  and 
as  heartfelt  as  it  used  to  be  in  the  olden  days. 


CHAPTER  XII 

The  Boy  Choir  and  Its  Problems 

THE  PROBLEMS    The    two    special    problems   connected 
with  directing  a  boy  choir  are: 

1.  Becoming  intimately  acquainted  with  the  compass,  registers,  possibil- 
ities, and  limitations  of  the  boy's  voice. 

2.  Finding  out  how  to  manage  the  boys  themselves  so  as  to  keep  them 
good-natured,  well-behaved,  interested,  and  hard  at  work. 

To  these  two  might  be  added  a  third — ^namely,  the  prob- 
lem of  becoming  familiar  with  the  liturgy  of  the  particu- 
lar church  in  which  the  choir  sings,  since  male  choirs  are 
to  be  found  most  often  in  liturgical  churches.  But  since 
this  will  vary  widely  in  the  case  of  different  sects,  we 
shall  not  concern  ourselves  with  it,  but  will  be  content 
with  giving  a  brief  discussion  of  each  of  the  other  points. 

PECULIARITIES  OF  The  child  voice  is  not  merely  a 
THE  CHILD  VOICE  miniature  adult  voice,  but  is  an 
instrument  of  quite  different  char- 
acter. In  the  first  place,  it  is  not  nearly  so  individual- 
istic in  timbre  as  the  adult  voice,  and  because  of  the  far 
greater  homogeneity  of  voice  quality  that  obtains  in 
children's  singing,  it  is  much  easier  to  secure  blending  of 
tone,  the  effect  being  that  of  one  voice  rather  than  of 
a  number  of  voices  in  combination.  This  is  a  disad- 
vantage from  the  standpoint  of  variety  of  color  in  pro- 
ducing certain  emotional  effects,  but  it  is  in  some  ways  an 
advantage  in  the  church  service,  especially  in  churches 
where  the  ideal  is  to  make  the  entire  procedure  as  im- 
personal and  formal  as  possible.  In  the  second  place,  the 
child  voice  is  good  only  in  the  upp>er  register — ^the   chest 


THE  BOY  CHOIR  AND  ITS  PROBLEMS  119 

tones  being  throaty,  unpleasant,  and  frequently  off 
pitch.  In  the  third  place,  the  child  voice  is  immature,  and 
his  vocal  organs  are  much  more  hkely  to  be  injured  by 
overstraining.  When  directed  by  a  competent  voice 
trainer,  however,  the  effect  of  a  large  group  of  children 
singing  together  is  most  striking,  and  their  pure,  fresh, 
flutelike  tones,  combined  with  the  appearance  of  purity 
and  innocence  which  they  present  to  the  eye,  bring  many 
a  thrill  to  the  heart  and  not  infrequently  a  tear  to  the 
eye  of  the  worshiper. 

THE  BOY  VOICE  IN  In  many  European  churches,  and 
THE  CHURCH  CHOIR  jj^  ^  considerable  number  in  the 
United  States,  it  is  customary  to 
have  boys  with  unchanged  voices  sing  the  soprano  part, 
men  with  trained  falsetto  voices  (called  male  altos)  tak- 
ing the  alto,*  while  the  tenor  and  bass  parts  are,  of 
course,  sung  by  men  as  always.  Since  the  child  voice 
is  only  useful  when  the  tones  are  produced  with  relaxed 
muscles,  and  since  the  resonance  cavities  have  not  devel- 
oped sufficiently  to  give  the  voice  a  great  deal  of  power, 
it  is  possible  for  a  few  men  on  each  of  the  lower  parts  to 
sing  with  from  twenty  to  thirty  boys  on  the  soprano 
part.  Six  basses,  four  tenors,  and  four  altos  will  easily 
balance  twenty-five  boy  sopranos,  if  all  voices  are  of 
average  power. 

THE  NECESSITY     There  is  one   difference   between   the 

OF  BEING  A  mixed  choir  of  adult  voices  and  the 

boy  choir  that  should  be  noted  at  the 

outset  by  the  amateur.     It  is  that,  in  the  former,  the 

*  In  many  male  choirs  the  alto  part  is  sung  by  boys;  but  this  does  not  result  in  a  fine 
blending  of  parts,  because  of  the  fact,  as  already  noted  in  the  above  paragraph,  that  the 
l)oy's  voice  is  good  only  in  its  upper  register.  It  may  be  of  interest  to  the  reader  to 
know  that  in  jjaces  where  there  are  no  adult  male  altos,  these  voices  may  be  trained  with 
comparative  ease.  All  that  is  needed  is  a  baritone  or  bass  who  has  no  particular  ambi- 
tions in  the  direction  of  solo  singing  (the  extensive  use  of  the  falsetto  voice  is  detrimental 
to  the  lower  tones);  who  is  a  gtHxl  reader;  and  who  is  willing  to  vocalize  in  his  falsetto 
voice  a  hidf  hour  a  day  for  a  f<!W  months.  The  <;hief  obstacle  that  is  likely  to  be  en- 
countered in  training  male  altos  is  the  fact  that  the  men  are  apt  to  regard  falsetto  sing- 
ing as  <!tfeminate. 


120  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

choir  leader  is  working  with  mature  men  and  women, 
most  of  whom  have  probably  learned  to  use  their  voices  as 
well  as  they  ever  will ;  but  in  directing  a  boy  choir,  the  so- 
pranos must  be  taught  not  only  the  actual  music  to  be 
sung  at  the  church  service,  but,  what  is  much  more  diffi- 
cult, they  must  be  trained  in  the  essentials  of  correct 
breathing,  tone  placement,  et  cetera,  from  the  ground  up. 
Hence  the  absolute  necessity  of  the  choirmaster  being  a 
voice  specialist.  He  need  not  have  a  fine  solo  voice,  but 
he  must  know  the  essentials  of  good  singing,  and  must  be 
able  to  demonstrate  with  his  own  voice  what  he  means 
by  purity  of  vowel,  clearness  of  enunciation,  et  cetera. 
These  things  are  probably  always  best  taught  by  imita- 
tion, even  in  the  case  of  adults;  but  when  dealing  with  a 
crowd  of  lively  American  boys,  imitation  is  practically 
the  only  method  that  can  be  used  successfully.  We  shall 
not  attempt  to  give  information  regarding  this  highly 
important  matter  in  the  present  volume,  because  it  is 
far  too  complex  and  difficult  to  be  taken  up  in  anything 
short  of  a  treatise  and  because,  moreover,  the  art  of 
singing  cannot  be  taught  in  a  book.  The  student  who  is 
ambitious  to  become  the  director  of  a  boy  choir  is  ad- 
vised, first,  to  study  singing  for  a  period  of  years,  and 
second,  to  read  several  good  books  upon  the  training  of 
children's  voices.  There  are  a  number  of  books  of  this 
character,  some  of  the  best  ones  being  included  in  the 
reference  list  in  Appendix  A  (p.  164). 

THE  DIFFERENCE  The  child's  larynx  grows  steadilv 

BETWEEN  THE  VOICES  ^^  the  age  of  about  six,  but 

OF  BOYS  AND  GIRLS  f.,  •     ..       ^  +i     _  j 

at  this  time  growth  ceases,  and 

until  puberty  the  vocal  cords,  larynx,  and  throat  muscles 
develop  in  strength  and  flexibility,  without  increasing 
appreciably  in  size.  This  means  that  from  six  until 
the  beginning  of  adolescence  the  voice  maintains  approxi- 
mately the  same  range,  and  that  this  is  the  time  to 
train  it  as  a  child  voice. 


THE  BOY  CHOIR  AND  ITS  PROBLEMS  121 

The  question  now  arises,  why  not  use  the  girl's  voice 
in  choirs  as  well  as  the  boy's? — and  the  answer  is  three- 
fold. In  the  first  place,  certain  churches  have  always 
clung  to  the  idea  of  the  male  choir,  women  being  refused 
any  participation  in  what  originally  was  strictly  a 
priestly  oflSce;  in  the  second  place,  the  girl  arrives  at 
the  age  of  puberty  somewhat  earlier  than  the  boy,  and 
since  her  voice  begins  to  change  proportionately  sooner, 
it  is  not  serviceable  for  so  long  a  period,  and  is  therefore 
scarcely  worth  training  as  a  child  voice  because  of  the 
short  time  during  which  it  can  be  used  in  this  capacity; 
and  in  the  third  place,  the  boy's  voice  is  noticeably  more 
brilliant  between  the  ages  of  seven  or  eight  and  thirteen 
or  fourteen,  and  is  therefore  actually  more  useful  from 
the  standpoint  of  both  power  and  timbre.  If  it  were 
not  for  such  considerations  as  these,  the  choir  of  girls 
would  doubtless  be  more  common  than  the  choir  of 
boys,  for  girls  are  much  more  likely  to  be  tractable  at 
this  age,  and  are  in  many  ways  far  easier  to  deal  with 
than  boys. 

At  the  age  of  six,  the  voices  of  boys  and  girls  are 
essentially  aUke  in  timbre;  but  as  the  boy  indulges  in 
more  vigorous  play  and  work,  and  his  muscles  grow 
firmer  and  his  whole  body  sturdier,  the  voice-producing 
mechanism  too  takes  on  these  characteristics,  and  a 
group  of  thirty  boys  ten  or  twelve  years  old  will  actually 
produce  tones  that  are  considerably  more  brilliant  than 
those  made  by  a  group  of  thirty  girls  of  similar  age. 


THE  COMPASS  OF      To  the  novice  in  handling  children's 

THE  CHILD  VOICE     yoices,  the  statement  that  the  tj^jical 

voice  of  boys  and  girls  about  ten 

years  of  age  easily  reaches  a"  and  frequently  b"  ore'" 

£1    s         will  at  first  seem  unbelievable.     This 

is  nevertheless  the  case,  and  the  first 

thing  to  be  learned  by  the  trainer  of 


122  ESSENTIALS    IN   CONDUCTING 

a  boy  choir  is  therefore  to  keep  the  boys  singing  high, 
beginning   with   the    higher  tones     fi  L.    ii>.     o 

and  vocaHzing  downward,  instead  A  **  ""  **"  ~^^ 
of  vice  versa.     The  main  reason  for 

the  necessity  of  this  downward  vocahzation  is  what  is 
known  as  the  movable  break.  In  an  adult  voice,  the 
change  from  a  low  register  to  a  higher  one  always  takes 
place  at  approximately  the  same  place  in  the  scale;  but 
the  child's  voice  is  immature,  his  vocal  organs  have  not 
formed  definitely  established  habits,  and  the  chest 
register  is  often  pushed  upward  to  c",  d",  or  even  e" 

_Q This  is  practically  always  done  in  sing- 

A  ^*  *^  "  ^  ing  an  ascending  scale  loudly,  and  the 
^^  result  is  not  only  distressing  to  the 
listener,  but  ruinous  to  the  voice.  In  former  days  this 
type  of  singing  was  common  in  our  pubUc  schools,  the 
result  being  that  most  boys  honestly  thought  it  im- 
possible  to   sing   higher   than   c"   or    d"      a 

this  being  the  limit  beyond  which  it  was  '^  "  "^^ 
diflBcult  to  push  the  chest  voice.  The  head  "^ 
voice  was  thus  not  used  at  all,  and  the  singing  of  public 
school  children  in  the  past  has  in  most  cases  been  any- 
thing but  satisfactory  from  the  standpoint  of  tonal 
beauty.  But  most  supervisors  of  music  have  now  be- 
come somewhat  familiar  with  the  child  voice,  and  are 
insisting  upon  high-pitched  songs,  soft  singing,  and 
downward  vocalization,  these  being  the  three  indis- 
j)ensable  factors  in  the  proper  training  of  children's 
voices.  The  result  is  that  in  many  places  school  children 
are  at  the  present  time  singing  very  well  indeed,  and 
the  present  growing  tendency  to  encourage  public  per- 
formance by  large  groups  of  them  makes  available  a 
new  color  to  the  composer  of  choral  and  orchestral  music, 
and  promises  many  a  thrill  to  the  concert-goer  of  the 
future. 

It  is  the  head  register,  or  thin  voice,  that  produces 
the  pure,  flutelike  tones  which  are  the  essential  charm 


THE  BOY  CHOIR  AND  ITS  PROBLEMS  123 

of  a  boy  choir,  and  if  chest  tones  are  to  be  employed  at 
all,  they  must  be  made  as  nearly  as  possible  as  are  the 
head  tones,  thus  causing  the  voice  to  produce  an  approxi- 
mately uniform  timbre  in  the  entire  scale.  This  may 
be  accomplished  with  a  fair  degree  of  ease  by  a  strict 
adherence  to  the  three  principles  of  procedure  mentioned 
in  the  above  paragraph.  In  fact  these  three  things  are 
almost  the  beginning,  middle,  and  end  of  child-voice 
training,  and  since  they  thu?.  form  the  sine  qua  non  of 
effective  boy-choir  singing,  we  shall  emphasize  them 
through  reiteration. 

1.  The  singing  must  be  soft  until  the  child  has  learned  to  produce  tone 
correctly  as  a  habit. 

2.  Downward  vocalization  should  be  employed  in  the  early  stages,  so  as 
to  insure  the  use  of  the  head  voice. 

3.  The  music  should  be  high  in  range,  in  order  that  the  child  may  be 
given  as  favorable  an  opportunity  as  possible  of  producing  his  best  tones. 

When  these  principles  are  introduced  in  either  a  boy 
choir  or  a  public  school  system,  the  effect  will  at  first  be 
disappointing,  for  the  tone  produced  by  the  boy's  head 
voice  is  so  small  and  seems  so  insignificant  as  compared 
with  the  chest  voice  wliich  he  has  probably  been  using, 
that  he  is  apt  to  resent  the  instruction,  and  perhaps  to 
feel  that  you  are  trying  to  make  a  baby,  or  worse  yet,  a 
girl,  out  of  him!  But  he  must  be  encouraged  to  persist, 
and  after  a  few  weeks  or  monthsof  practice,  the  improve- 
ment in  his  singing  will  be  so  patent  that  there  will  prob- 
ably be  no  further  trouble. 

THE  LIFK  OF  Boys  are  admitted  to  male  choirs  at 

THE  BO\  VOK  E  from  seven  or  eight  to  ten  or  twelve 
years  of  age,  but  are  often  required  to 
undergo  a  course  of  training  lasting  a  year  or  more  be- 
fore being  permitted  to  sing  with  the  choir  in  public. 
For  this  reason,  if  for  no  other,  the  director  of  a  boy  choir 
must  be  a  thoroughly  qualified  voice  trainer.  He,  of 
course,  takes  no  voice  that  is  not  reasonably  good  to  start 


124   ■  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

with,  but  after  admitting  a  boy  with  a  naturally  good 
vocal  organ  it  is  his  task  so  to  train  that  voice  as  to  enable 
it  to  withstand  several  hours  of  singing  each  day  without 
injury  and  to  produce  tones  of  maximal  beauty  as.  a  mat- 
ter of  habit.  But  if  the  choir  leader  is  not  a  thoroughly 
qualified  vocal  instructor,  or  if  he  has  erroneous  ideals 
of  what  boy- voice  tone  should  be,  the  result  is  frequently 
that  the  voice  is  overstrained  and  perhaps  ruined ;  or  else 
the  singing  is  of  an  insipid,  lifeless,  "booty"  character, 
making  one  feel  that  an  adult  mixed  choir  is  infinitely 
preferable  to  a  boy  choir.* 

Adolescence  begins  at  the  age  of  thirteen  or  fourteen  in 
boys,  and  with  the  growth  of  the  rest  of  the  body  at  this 
time,  the  vocal  organs  also  resume  their  increase  in  size, 
the  result  being  not  only  longer  vocal  cords  and  a  cor- 
respondingly lower  range  of  voice,  but  an  absolute 
breaking  down  of  the  habits  of  singing  that  have  been 
established,  and  frequently  a  temporary  but  almost 
total  loss  of  control  of  the  vocal  organs.  These  changes 
sometimes  take  place  as  early  as  the  thirteenth  year, 
but  on  the  other  hand  are  frequently  not  noticeable  until 
the  boy  is  fifteen  or  sixteen,  and  there  are  on  record 
instances  of  boys  singing  soprano  in  choirs  until  seven- 
teen or  even  eighteen.  The  loss  of  control  that  accom- 
panies the  change  of  voice  (with  which  we  are  all 
familiar  because  of  having  heard  the  queer  alternations  of 
squeaking  and  grumbling  in  which  the  adolescent  boy  so 
frequently  indulges),  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  larynx, 
vocal  cords,  et  cetera,  increase  in  size  more  rapidly  than 
the  muscles  develop  strength  to  manipulate  them,  and 
this  rapid  increase  in  the  size  of  the  parts  (in  boys  a 
practical  doubling  in  the  length  of  the  vocal  cords)  makes 
it  incumbent  upon  the  choir  trainer  to  use  extreme  cau- 

*  Even  when  an  ideal  typ<!  of  tone  is  secured,  ihero  is  considerable  difference  of  opinion 
as  to  whether  the  boy  soprano  is,  all  in  all,  as  effective  as  the  adult  female  voice.  Many 
consider  that  the  chihl  is  incapable  of  exprcssinK  a  sufficient  variety  of  emotions  because 
of  his  lacli  of  experience  with  life,  and  that  the  boy-soprano  voice  is  therefore  unsuited 
to  the  task  assigned  it,  esjKicially  when  the  modern  conception  df  rcliKiou  is  taken  into 
consideration.  But  to  settle  this  controversy  is  no  part  of  our  task,  hence  we  shall  not 
even  express  an  opinion  upon  the  matter. 


THE  BOY  CHOIR  AND  ITS  PROBLEMS  125 

tion  in  handling  the  voices  at  this  time,  just  as  the  em- 
ployer of  adolescent  boys  must  use  great  care  in  setting 
them  at  any  sort  of  a  task  involving  heavy  lifting  or 
other  kinds  of  strain.  In  the  public  schools,  where  no 
child  is  asked  to  sing  more  than  ten  or  twelve  minutes 
a  day,  no  harm  is  likely  to  result;  but  in  a  choir  which 
rehearses  from  one  to  two  hours  each  day  and  frequently 
sings  at  a  public  service  besides,  it  seems  to  be  the  con- 
sensus of  opinion  that  the  boy  is  taking  a  grave  risk  in 
continuing  to  sing  while  his  voice  is  changing.*  He  is 
usually  able  to  sing  the  high  tones  for  a  considerable 
period  after  the  low  ones  begin  to  develop;  but  to  con- 
tinue singing  the  high  tones  is  always  attended  with 
considerable  danger,  and  many  a  voice  has  undoubtedly 
been  ruined  for  after  use  by  singing  at  this  time.  The 
reason  for  encouraging  the  boy  to  keep  on  singing  is,  of 
course,  that  the  choirmaster,  having  trained  a  voice  for 
a  number  of  years,  dislikes  losing  it  when  it  is  at  the  very 
acme  of  brilliancy.  For  this  feeling  he  can  hardly  be 
blamed,  for  the  most  important  condition  of  successful 
work  by  a  male  choir  is  probably  permanency  of  member- 
ship; and  the  leader  must  exercise  every  wile  to  keep  the 
boys  in,  once  they  have  become  useful  members  of  the 
organization.  But  in  justice  to  the  boy's  future,  he  ought 
probably  in  most  cases  to  be  dismissed  from  the  choir 
when  his  voice  begins  to  change. 

Let  us  now  summarize  the  advice  given  up  to  this 
point  before  going  on  to  the  consideration  of  our  second 
problem : 

t^  1.     Have  the  boys  sing  in  high  range  most  of  the  time. 

^^^^      The  actual  compass  of  the  average  choir  boy's  voice  is 
-  o  =J      probably  g — c"  but  his  best  tones  will  be  between  e  '  and 

^  g  '.    An  occasional  a '  orb  "or  ad    or  c '  will  do  no  harm, 

but  the  voice  must  not  remain  outside  of  the  range  e  — g  "  for  long  at  a  time. 

♦  Browne  and  Behnke,  in  T/ip  Child's  Voice,  p.  75,  stat«  in  reply  to  a  questionnaire 
sent  out  to  a  large  numt>cr  of  choir  trainers,  singers,  el  cetera,  that  seventy-nine  persons  out 
of  one  hundred  fifty-two  stated  positively  that  singing  through  the  i)criod  of  puberty 
"causes  certain  injury,  deterioration,  or  ruin  to  the  after  voice."  In  the  same  book  are 
found  also  (pp.  85  to  90)  a  series  of  extremely  interesting  comments  on  the  choirmaster's 
temptation  to  use  a  voice  after  it  begins  to  change. 


126  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

2.  Insist  upon  soft  singing  until  correct  habits  are  established.  'There 
is  a  vast  difference  of  opinion  as  to  what  soft  singing  means,  and  we  have 
no  means  of  making  the  point  clear  except  to  say  that  at  the  outset  of  his 
career  the  boy  can  scarcely  sing  too  softly.  Later  on,  after  correct  habits  are 
formed,  the  singing  may,  of  course,  be  louder,  but  it  should  at  no  time  be  so 
loud  as  to  sound  strained. 

3.  Train  the  voice  downward  for  some  time  before  attempting  upward 
vocalization. 

4.  Dismiss  the  boy  from  the  choir  when  his  voice  begins  to  change,  even 
if  you  need  him  and  if  he  needs  the  money  which  he  receives  for  singing. 

THE  BOY  The  second  special  problem  mentioned  at 
HIMSELF  |.jjg  beginning  of  this  chapter  is  the  manage- 
ment of  the  boys  owning  the  voices  which 
we  have  just  been  discussing;  and  this  part  of  the  choir- 
master's task  is  considerably  more  complex,  less  amen- 
able to  codification,  and  requires  infinitely  more  art  for 
its  successful  prosecution.  One  may  predict  with  reason- 
able certainty  what  a  typical  boy-voice  will  do  as  the 
result  of  certain  treatment;  but  the  wisest  person  can 
not  foresee  what  the  result  will  be  when  the  boy  himself 
is  subjected  to  any  specified  kind  of  handling.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  typical  boy, 
and  even  if  there  were,  our  knowledge  of  boy  nature  in 
general  has  been,  at  least  up  to  comparatively  recent 
times,  so  slight  that  it  has  been  impossible  to  give  direc- 
tions as  to  his  management. 

HOW  TO  In  general,  that  choir  director  will  suc- 

HANDLE  BOYS  ^^j^^^^  j^^g^  j^  keeping  his  boys  in  the 
choir  and  in  getting  them  to  do  good 
work,  who,  other  things  being  equal,  keeps  on  the  best 
terms  with  them  personally.  Our  advice  is,  therefore, 
that  the  prospective  director  of  a  choir  of  boys  find 
out  just  as  much  as  possible  aboi|t  the  likes  and  dislikes, 
the  predilections  and  the  prejudices  of  pre-adolescent 
boys,  and  especially  that  he  investigate  ways  and  means 
of  getting  on  good  terms  with  them.  He  will  find  that 
most  boys  are  intensely  active  at  this  stage,  for  their 


THE  BOY  CHOIR  AND  ITS  PROBLEMS  127 

bodies  are  not  growing  very  much,  and  there  is  there- 
fore a  large  amount  of  superfluous  energy.  This  activity 
on  their  part  is  perfectly  natural  and  indeed  wholly  com- 
mendable; and  yet  it  will  be  very  Hkely  to  get  the  boy 
into  trouble  unless  some  one  is  at  hand  to  guide  his 
energy  into  useful  channels.  This  does  not  necessarily 
mean  making  him  do  things  that  he  does  not  like  to 
do;  on  the  contrary,  it  frequently  involves  helping  him 
to  do  better,  something  that  he  already  has  a  taste  for 
doing.  Space  does  not  permit  details;  but  if  the  reader 
will  investigate  the  Boy  Scout  movement,  the  supervised 
playground  .idea,  and  the  development  of  school  ath- 
letics, as  well  as  the  introduction  of  manual  training  of 
various  sorts,  trips  to  museums  of  natural  history, 
zoological  and  botanical  gardens,  et  cetera,  school 
"hikes"  and  other  excursions,  and  similar  activities 
that  now  constitute  a  part  of  the  regular  school  work  in 
many  of  our  modern  educational  institutions,  he  will 
find  innumerable  applications  of  the  idea  that  we  are 
presenting;  and  he  will  perhaps  be  surprised  to  discover 
that  the  boy  of  today  likes  to  go  to  school;  that  he  ap- 
plies at  home  many  of  the  things  that  he  learns  there, 
and  that  he  frequently  regards  some  teacher  as  his  best 
friend  instead  of  as  an  arch  enemy,  as  formerly.  These 
desirable  changes  have  not  taken  place  in  all  schools  by 
any  means,  but  the  results  of  their  introduction  have 
been  so  significant  that  a  constantly  increasing  number 
of  schools  are  adopting  them;  and  public  school  educa- 
tion is  to  mean  infinitely  more  in  the  future  than  it  has 
in  the  past  because  we  are  seeing  the  necessity  of  look- 
ing at  things  through  the  eyes  of  the  pupil,  and  especially 
from  the  standpoint  of  his  life  outside  of  and  after  leav- 
ing the  school.  Let  the  choir  trainer  learn  a  lesson 
from  the  public  school  teacher,  and  let  him  not  consider 
the  boy  to  be  vicious  just  because  he  is  lively,  and  let 
him  not  try  to  repress  the  activity  but  rather  let  him 
train  it  into  useful  channels.     Above  all,  let  him  not 


128  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

fail  to  take  into  consideration  the  boy's  viewpoint,  al- 
ways treating  his  singers  in  such  a  way  that  they  will 
feel  that  he  is  "playing  fair."  It  has  been  found  that 
if  boys  are  given  a  large  share  in  their  own  government, 
they  are  not  only  far  easier  to  manage  at  the  time,  but 
grow  enormously  in  maturity  of  social  ideals,  and  are 
apt  to  become  much  more  useful  citizens  because  of 
such  growth.  Placing  responsibility  upon  the  boys  in- 
volves trusting  them,  of  course,  but  it  has  been  found 
that  when  the  matter  has  been  presented  fairly  and 
supervised  skilfully,  they  have  always  risen  to  the  re- 
sponsibility placed  upon  their  shoulders.  We  therefore 
recommend  that  self-government  be  inaugurated  in  the 
boy  choir,  that  the  boys  be  allowed  to  elect  officers  out 
of  their  own  ranks,  and  that  the  rules  and  regulations  be 
worked  out  largely  by  the  members  themselves  with  a 
minimum  of  assistance  from  the  choirmaster. 

Let  us  not  make  th'e  serious  mistake  of  supposing  that 
in  order  to  get  on  the  good  side  of  boys  we  must  make 
their  work  easy.  Football  is  not  easy,  but  it  is  extremely 
popular !  It  is  the  motive  rather  than  the  intrinsic 
difficulty  of  the  task  that  makes  the  difference.  The 
thing  needed  by  the  choir  director  is  a  combination  of 
firmness  (but  not  crossness)  with  the  play  spirit.  Let 
him  give  definite  directions,  and  let  these  directions  be 
given  with  such  decision  that  there  will  never  be  any 
doubt  as  to  whether  they  are  to  be  obeyed;  but  let  him 
always  treat  the  boys  courteously  and  pleasantly,  and 
let  him  always  convey  the  idea  that  he  is  not  only  fair 
in  his  attitude  toward  them,  but  that  he  is  attempting 
to  be  friendly  as  well. 

Work  the  boys  hard  for  a  half  hour  or  so,  therefore, 
and  then  stop  for  five  minutes  and  join  them  in  a  game  of 
leapfrog,  if  that  is  the  order  of  the  day.  If  they  invite 
you  to  go  with  them  on  a  hike  or  picnic,  refuse  at  your 
p>eril;  and  if  you  happen  to  be  out  on  the  ball  ground 
when  one  side  is  short  a  player,  do  not  be  afraid  of  losing 


THE  BOY  CHOIR  AND  ITS  PROBLEMS  129 

your  dignity,  but  jump  at  the  chance  of  taking  a  hand 
in  the  game.  Some  one  has  said  that  "famiHarity  breeds 
contempt,  only  if  one  of  the  persons  be  contemptible," 
and  this  dictum  might  well  be  applied  to  the  management 
of  the  boy  choir.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  maintain  discipline  in  the  choir  rehearsal, 
and  it  is  also  necessary  to  arouse  in  the  boys  a  mental 
attitude  that  will  cause  them  to  do  efficient  work  and 
to  conduct  themselves  in  a  quiet  and  reverent  manner 
during  the  church  service;  hence  the  necessity  for  rules 
and  regulations  and  for  punishments  of  various  kinds. 
But  the  two  things  that  we  have  been  outlining  are 
entirely  compatible,  and  the  choir  director  who  plays 
with  the  boys  and  is  hailed  by  them  as  a  good  fellow  will 
on  the  whole  have  far  less  trouble  than  he  who  holds 
himself  aloof  and  tries  to  reign  as  a  despot  over  his  little 
kingdom. 

REMUNERATION     In  conclusion,  a  word  should  perhaps  be 
c^r^'^^l  added  about  various  plans  of  remunerat- 

ing the  boys  for  their  singing.  In  some 
large  churches  and  cathedrals  a  choir-school  is  main- 
tained and  the  boys  receive  food,  clothing,  shelter,  and 
education  in  return  for  their  services;  but  this  entails  a 
very  heavy  expense,  and  in  most  smaller  churches  the 
boys  are  paid  a  certain  amount  for  each  rehearsal  and 
service,  or  possibly  a  lump  sum  per  week.  The  amount 
received  by  each  boy  depends  upon  his  voice,  his  expe- 
rience, his  attitude  toward  the  work,  et  cetera,  in  other 
words,  upon  his  usefulness  as  a  member  of  the  choir. 
Attempts  have  often  been  made  to  organize  a  boy  choir 
on  the  volunteer  basis,  but  this  plan  has  not  usually 
proved  to  be  successful,  and  is  not  advocated. 

When  the  boys  live  in  their  own  homes  and  there  are 
Sunday  services  only,  the  usual  plan  is  to  have  them  meet 
for  about  two  rehearsals  each  week  by  themselves,  with 
a  third  rehearsal  for  the  full  choir.    Often  the  men  have  a 


130  E,SSENT/ALS    IN    CONDUCTING 

separate  practice  also,  especially  if  they  are  not  good 
readers. 

If  the  organization  is  to  be  permanent,  it  will  bo  neces- 
sary to  be  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  new  voices,  these 
being  trained  partly  by  themselves  and  partly  by  singing 
with  the  others  at  the  rehearsals  through  the  period  of 
weeks  or  months  before  they  are  permitted  to  take  part 
in  the  public  services.  In  this  way  the  changing  voices 
that  drop  out  are  constantly  being  replaced  V)y  newly 
trained  younger  boys,  and  the  number  in  the  chorus  is 
kept  fairly  constant. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

The  Conductor  as  Voice  Trainer 

THE  CONDUCTOR'S  Correct  voice  placement,  the  full  use 
NEED  OF  VOCAL  ^^f  ^^le  resonance  cavities,  good  habits 
TRAINING  ^j  breathing,  and  other  details  con- 

nected with  what  is  commonly  termed  voice  culture,  can- 
not be  taught  by  correspondence;  neither  can  the  con- 
ductor be  made  an  efficient  voice  trainer  by  reading 
books.  But  so  many  choral  conductors  are  failing  to 
secure  adequate  results  from  their  choruses  because  of 
their  ignorance  of  even  the  fundamentals  of  singing, 
that  it  has  been  thought  best  to  include  a  brief  presenta- 
tion of  a  few  of  the  most  important  matters  with  which 
the  conductor  ought  to  be  acquainted.  In  discussing 
these  things  it  will  only  be  possible  for  us  to  present  to 
the  student  of  conducting  the  problems  involved,  leaving 
their  actual  working  out  to  each  individual.  The  chief 
difficulty  in  connection  with  the  whole  matter  arises 
from  the  fact  that  the  conductor  needs  in  his  work  cer- 
tain qualities  of  musicianship  that  are  more  apt  to  result 
from  instrumental  than  from  vocal  training,  the  educa- 
tion of  the  instrumentalist  usually  emphasizing  harmony, 
ear-training,  form,  and  in  general,  the  intellectual  aspect 
of  music;  while  that  of  the  vocalist  too  often  entirely 
leaves  out  this  invaluable  type  of  training,  dealing  only 
with  voice  culture  and  in  general  the  interpretative  side 
of  music  study.  The  vocalist  who  attempts  to  conduct 
is  therefore  frequently  criticized  for  his  lack  of  what  is 
called  "solid  musical  training";  but  the  instrumentaKst- 
conductor  as  often  fails  to  get  adequate  results  in  working 
with  singers  because  of  his  utter  ignorance  of  vocal  pro- 
cedure; and  this  latter  type  of  failure  is  probably  as 
productive  of  poor  choral  singing  as  the  former.    This 


132  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

chapter  is,  of  course,  written  especially  for  the  instru- 
mentalist, and  our  advice  to  him  is  not  merely  to  read 
books  about  singing,  but  to  study  singing  itself,  whether 
he  is  interested  in  cultivating  his  own  voice  for  solo  pur- 
poses or  not.  It  might  be  remarked  in  this  connection 
that  aside  from  the  considerations  that  we  have  been 
naming,  the  conductor  who  can  sing  a  phrase  to  his 
orchestra  or  chorus  and  thus  show  by  imitation  exactly 
what  shading,  et  cetera,  he  wishes,  has  an  enormous  advan- 
tage over  him  who  can  only  convey  his  ideas  by  means  of 
words. 

PROPER  Probably  the  first  thing  about  singing  to 

BREATfflNG  ^  learned  by  the  student  of  conducting  is 
that  good  voice  production  depends  upon 
using  the  full  capacity  of  the  lungs  instead  of  merely  the 
upper  portion.  Hence  the  necessity  of  holding  the  body 
easily  erect  as  a  matter  of  habit,  with  chest  up,  and  with 
the  diaphragm  alternately  pushing  the  visc*era  away  in 
order  to  enable  the  lungs  to  expand  downward,  and  then 
allowing  the  parts  to  come  back  into  place  again,  as  the 
air  is  in  turn  expelled  from  the  lungs.  By  practising 
deep  breathing  in  this  way  the  actual  capacity  of  the 
lungs  may  be  considerably  increased,  and  breathing 
exercises  have  therefore  always  formed  part  of  the  rou- 
tine imposed  upon  the  vocal  student.  A  deep  breath 
involves,  then,  a  pushing  down  of  the  diaphragm  and 
a  pushing  out  of  the  lower  ribs,  and  not  merely  an  ex- 
pansion of  the  upper  part  of  the  chest.  The  singer 
must  form  the  habit  of  breathing  in  this  way  at  all 
times.  To  test  breathing,  the  singer  may  place  the 
hands  about  the  waist  on  thcssides  of  the  thorax  (fingers 
toward  the  front,  thumbs  toward  the  back)  and  see 
whether  there  is  good  side  expansion  of  the  ribs  in  inhal- 
ing, and  whether  in  taking  breath  the  abdomen  swells 
out,  receding  as  the  air  is  expjelled.  We  have  always  felt 
that  a  few  minutes  spent  at  each  chorus  rehearsal  in 


J 


THE  CONDUCTOR  AS  VOICE  TRAINER  133 

deep  breathing  and  in  vocalizing  would  more  than  jus- 
tify the  time  taken  from  practising  music;  but  such 
exercises  should  not  be  urdertaken  unless  the  conductor 
understands  singing  and  knows  exactly  what  their  pur-, 
p)Ose  is. 

It  is  important  that  the  conductor  should  understand 
the  difference  between  the  use  of  the  singer's  full  breath 
which  we  have  been  describing,  and  his  half  breath.  The 
full  breath  is  taken  at  punctuation  marks  of  greater 
value,  at  long  rests,  before  long  sustained  tones,  and,  in 
solo  singing,  before  long  trills  or  cadenzas.  The  half 
breath  is  usually  taken  at  the  lesser  punctuation  marks 
and  at  short  rests,  when  it  is  necessary  to  replenish 
the  supply  of  air  in  as  short  a  time  as  possible,  in  order 
not  to  interrupt  the  legato  any  more  than  is  absolutely 
necessary. 

BREATH  The  next  point  to  be  noted  is  that,  having 
CONTROL  provided  as  large  a  supply  of  air  as  possible 
every  particle  of  it  must  now  be  made  use  of 
in  producing  tone;  in  the  first  place,  in  order  that  no 
breath  may  be  wasted,  and  in  the  second  place,  in  order 
that  the  purity  of  the  tone  may  not  be  marred  by  non- 
vocalized  escaping  breath.  This  implies  absolute  breath 
control,  and  the  skilful  singer  is  able  to  render  incredibly 
long  phrases  in  one  breath,  not  so  much  because  his 
lungs  have  more  capacity,  but  because  every  atom  of 
breath  actually  functions  in  producing  vocal  tone.  And 
because  of  the  fact  that  no  breath  escapes  without  set- 
ting the  cords  in  vibration,  the  tone  is  clear,  and  not 
"breathy."  The  secret  of  expressive  singing  in  sustained 
melody  is  absolutely  steady  tone  combined  with  a  perfect 
legato,  and  neither  of  these  desirable  things  can  be 
achieved  without  perfect  breath  control,  this  matter 
applying  to  choral  singing  as  forcefully  as  it  does  to  solo 
work. 


134  ESSENTIALS  IN   CONDUCTING 

RESONANCE  The  next  point  to  be  noted  is  that  the 
carrying  power  and  quality  of  a  voice  de- 
pend far  more  upon  the  use  made  of  the  resonance 
cavities  than  upon  the  violence  with  which  the  vocal 
cords  vibrate.  Every  musical  instrument  involves,  in 
its  production  of  tone,  a  combination  of  three  elements: 

1.  The  vibrating  body. 

2.  The  force  which  sets  the  body  in  vibration. 

S.     The  reinforcing  medium   (the  sound  board  of  a  piano,  the  body  of 
a  violin,  et  cetera.) 

In  the  case  of  the  human  voice,  the  vocal  cords  (or,  as 
they  might  more  properly  be  termed,  the  vocal  bands) 
constitute  the  vibrating  body;  the  air  expelled  from 
the  lungs  is  the  force  which  sets  the  cords  in  vibration; 
and  the  cavities  of  the  mouth,  nose,  and  to  a  lesser 
extent,  of  the  remainder  of  the  head  and  even  of  the 
chest,  are  the  reinforcing  medium — the  resonator.  A 
small  voice  cannot  of  course  be  made  into  a  large  one; 
but  by  improving  its  placement,  and  particularly  by 
reinforcing  it  with  as  much  resonance  power  as  possible, 
it  may  be  caused  to  fill  even  a  large  auditorium.  This 
involves  such  details  as  keeping  the  tongue  down,  allow- 
ing part  of  the  air  to  pass  through  the  nose,  focusing 
the  tone  against  the  roof  of  the  mouth  just  back  of  the 
teeth,  opening  the  mouth  exactly  the  right  distance, 
forming  the  lips  in  just  the  right  way,  et  cetera.  The  re- 
sult is  that  instead  of  sounding  as  though  it  came  from 
the  throat,  the  tone  apparently  comes  from  the  upper 
part  of  the  mouth  just  back  of  the  teeth;  and  instead 
of  seeming  to  be  forced  out,  it  appears  to  flow  or  float 
out  without  the  slightest  effort  on*  the  part  of  the  singer. 
A  forced  or  squeezed-out  tone  is  always  bad — bad  for 
the  voice  and  bad  for  the  ear  of  the  hstener! 

THE  VOWEL  IN    Another  point  to  be  noted  by  the  con- 

SINGING  ductor  is  that  one  sings  upon  vowels 

and  not  upon  consonants;  that  most  of 

the  consonants  are  in  fact  merely  devices  for  interrupt- 


THE  CONDUCTOR  AS  VOICE  TRAINER  135 

ing  the  vowel  sounds  in  various  ways;  and  that  good 
tone  depends  largely  upon  the  ability  of  the  singer  to 
select  the  best  of  several  different  sounds  of  the  vowel 
and  to  hold  this  sound  without  any  change  in  quality 
during  the  entire  time  that  the  tone  is  prolonged.  It 
is  comparatively  easy  to  make  a  good  tone  with  some 
vowels,  but  extremely  difficult  with  others,  and  it  is  the 
singer's  task  so  to  modify  the  vowel  that  is  unfavorable 
as  to  make  it  easier  to  produce  good  tone  in  using  it. 
But  while  thus  modifying  the  actual  vowel  sound,  the 
integrity  of  the  vowel  must  at  least  be  sufficiently  pre- 
served to  enable  the  listener  to  understand  what  vowel 
is  being  sung.  All  this  is  particularly  difficult  in  singing 
loudly,  and  it  is  largely  for  this  reason  that  the  vocal 
student  is  required  by  his  teacher  to  practise  softly  so 
much  of  the  time.  Some  vowels  have  two  parts  {e.g., 
i  =  a  +  e),  and  here  it  is  the  singer's  task  to  sustain 
the  part  upon  which  the  better  tone  can  be  made,  sound- 
ing the  other  part  only  long  enough  to  produce  a  correct 
total  effect. 

CONSONANTS  As  noted  above,  the  consonants  are  in 
general  merely  devices  for  cutting  off  the 
flow  of  vowel  sound  in  various  ways,  and  one  of  the  most 
difficult  problems  confronting  the  singer  in  his  pubhc 
performances  is  to  articulate  the  consonants  so  skilfully 
that  the  words  shall  be  easy  to  follow  by  the  audience, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  keep  the  vowel  sounds  so  pure 
and  their  flow  so  uninterrupted  that  the  singing  may  be 
perfect  in  its  tone  quality  and  in  its  legato.  It  is  because 
this  matter  presents  great  difficulty  that  the  words  of 
the  singer  with  a  good  legato  can  so  seldom  be  under- 
stood, while  the  declamatory  vocalist  who  presents  his 
words  faultlessly  is  apt  to  sing  with  no  legato  at  all. 
The  problem  is  not  insoluble,  but  its  solution  can  only 
be  accomplished  through  years  of  study  under  expert 
guidance.     Vocal  teachers  in  general  will  probably  dis- 


136  ESSENTIALS  IN   CONDUCTING 

agree  with  us;  but  it  is  our  opinion  that  in  choral  per- 
formance at  least,  the  tone  rather  than  the  words  should 
be  sacrificed  if  one  or  the  other  has  to  give  way,  and  the 
choral  conductor  is  therefore  advised  to  study  the  use 
of  the  consonants  most  carefully,  and  to  find  out  how 
to  make  use  of  every  means  of  securing  well  enunciated 
words  from  his  body  of  singers. 

RELAXATION  The  next  point  to  be  noted  is  the  impor- 
tance of  what  vocal  teachers  refer  to  as  the 
"movable  lower  jaw,"  this,  of  course,  implying  abso- 
lute (but  controlled)  relaxation  of  all  muscles  used  in 
singing.  Without  relaxation  of  this  sort,  the  tone  is 
very  hkely  to  be  badly  placed,  the  sound  seeming  to 
come  from  the  throat,  and  the  whole  effect  being  that 
of  tone  squeezed  out  or  forced  out  instead  of  tone  flow- 
ing or  floating  out,  as  described  in  a  previous  paragraph. 
This  difficulty  is,  of  course,  most  obvious  in  singing  the 
higher  tones;  and  one  remedy  within  the  reach  of  the 
choral  conductor  is  to  test  all  voices  carefully  and  not 
to  allow  anyone  to  sing  a  part  that  is  obviously  too  high. 
But  in  addition  to  this  general  treatment  of  the  matter, 
it  will  often  be  possible  for  the  director  to  urge  upon  his 
chorus  the  necessity  of  relaxation  in  producing  tone, 
thus  reminding  those  who  tighten  up  unconsciously 
that  they  are  not  singing  properly,  and  conveying  to 
those  who  are  ignorant  of  the  matter  at  least  a  hint 
regarding  a  better  use  of  their  voices. 

VOCAL  A  vocal  register  has  been   defined    as  "a 

REGISTERS  series  of  tones  produced  by  the  same 
mechanism."  This  means  that  in  begin- 
ning with  the  lowest  tone  of  the  voice  and  ascending  the 
scale,  one  comes  to  a  point  where  before  going  on  to  the 
next  scale-tone,  a  readjustment  of  the  vocal  organs  is 
necessary,  this  change  in  the  action  of  the  larjnix  and 
vocal  cords  being  felt  by  the  singer  and  heard  by  the 


THE  CONDUCTOR  AS  VOICE  TRAINER  137 

Kstener.  The  point  at  which  the  readjustment  takes 
place,  i.e.,  the  place  where  the  voice  goes  from  one  regis- 
ter into  another,  is  called  the  break;  and  one  of  the 
things  the  voice  trainer  tries  to  do  for  each  pupil  is  to 
teach  him  to  pass  so  skilfully  from  one  register  to  an- 
other that  these  breaks  will  not  be  noticeable  to  the 
hearer — the  voice  eventually  sounding  an  even  scale 
from  its  lowest  to  its  highest  tone.  There  is  consider- 
able difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  number  of  registers 
existing  in  any  one  voice,  but  perhaps  the  majority  of 
writers  incline  to  the  view  that  there  are  three;  the  chest 
or  lower,  the  thin  or  middle,  and  the  small  or  head.  It 
should  be  noted,  however,  that  the  readjustment  in  the 
action  of  the  vocal  cords  referred  to  above  probably 
.takes  place  only  when  passing  from  the  lowest  register 
to  the  next  higher  one,  and  that  such  changes  in  action 
as  occur  at  other  points  are  more  or  less  indefinite  and 
possibly  even  somewhat  imaginary.  Authorities  differ 
as  to  just  what  the  change  in  mechanism  is  in  passing 
from  the  chest  register  to  the  middle  one;  but  the  most 
plausible  explanation  seems  to  be  that  in  the  lowest 
register,  the  change  in  pitch  from  a  lower  tone  to  the 
next  higher  one  is  accomplished  at  least  partly  by 
stretching  the  vocal  bands  more  tightly,  and  that  when 
the  limit  of  this  stretching  process  has  been  reached, 
the  cords  relax  slightly,  and  from  this  point  on  each 
higher  tone  is  made  by  shortening  the  vibrating  portion 
of  the  cords;  in  other  words,  by  decreasing  the  length 
of  the  glottis  (the  aperture  between  the  vocal  cords). 
This  point  may  become  clearer  if  we  compare  the  process 
with  tuning  a  violin  string.  The  string  may  be  a  third 
or  a  fourth  below  its  normal  pitch  when  the  violinist 
begins  to  tune  his  instrument,  but  by  turning  the  peg 
and  thus  stretching  the  string  tighter  and  tighter,  the 
tone  is  raised  by  small  degrees  until  the  string  gives 
forth  the  pitch  that  it  is  supposed  to  sound.  But  this 
same  string  may  now  be  made  to  play  higher  and  higher 


138  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

pitches  by  pressing  it  against  the  fingerboard,  thus 
shortening  the  vibrating  portion  more  and  more.  The 
tuning  process  may  be  said  to  compare  roughly  with 
the  mechanism  of  the  chest  register  of  the  human 
voice;  while  the  shortening  of  the  string  by  pressing  it 
against  the  fingerboard  is  somewhat  analogous  to  what 
takes  place  in  the  higher  registers  of  the  voice. 

We  have  now  enumerated  what  seem  to  us  to  be  the 
most  essential  matters  connected  with  vocal  procedure; 
and  if  to  such  information  as  is  contained  in  the  fore- 
going paragraphs  the  conductor  adds  the  knowledge  that 
the  messa  di  voce  (a  beautiful  vocal  effect  produced  by 
swelling  a  tone  from  soft  to  loud  and  then  back  again)  is 
to  be  produced  by  increase  and  decrease  of  breath  pres- 
sure and  not  by  a  greater  or  lesser  amount  of  straining  of 
the  throat  muscles;  that  portamento  (gliding  by  in- 
finitely small  degrees  in  pitch  from  one  tone  to  another  (, 
although  a  valuable  and  entirely  legitimate  expressional 
effect  when  used  occasionally  in  a  passage  where  its 
employment  is  appropriate,  may  be  over-used  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  result  in  a  slovenly,  vulgar,  and  alto- 
gether objectionable  style  of  singing;  and  that  whereas 
the  vibrato  may  imbue  with  virility  and  warmth  an 
otherwise  cold,  dead  tone  and  if  skilfully  and  judiciously 
used  may  add  greatly  to  the  color  and  vitality  of  the 
singing,  the  tremolo  is  on  the  other  hand  a  destroyer  of 
pitch  accuracy,  a  despoiler  of  vocal  ideahsm,  and  an 
abhorrence  to  the  Hstener;  if  our  conductor  knows  these 
and  other  similar  facts  about  singing,  then  he  will  not 
run  quite  so  great  a  risk  of  making  himself  ridiculous  in 
the  eyes  of  the  singers  whom  he  is  conducting  as  has 
sometimes  been  the  case  when  instrumentalists  have 
assumed  control  of  vocal  forces.  But  let  us  emphasize 
again  the  fact  that  these  things  cannot  be  learned  from  a 
book,  but  must  be  acquired  through  self -activity,  i.e.,  by 
actual  experience  in  singing;  hence  the  importance  of  vocal 
study  on  the  part  of  the  prospective  choral  conductor. 


THE  CONDUCTOR  AS  VOICE  TRAINER  139 

In  conclusion,  let  us  enumerate  the  main  points  in- 
volved in  what  is  called  good  singing — these  points  apply- 
ing to  choral  music  as  directly  as  to  solo  performance. 

1.  The  intonation  must  be  perfect;  i.e.,  the  tones  produced  must  be 
neither  sharp  nor  flat,  but  exactly  true  to  pitch. 

i.  The  tone  must  be  attacked  and  released  exactly  at  the  right  pitch;  i.e., 
the  voice  must  not  begin  on  some  indefinite  lower  tone  and  slide  up,  or  on  a 
higher  tone  and  slide  down,  but  must  begin  on  precisely  the  right  pitch. 

3.  The  tone  must  be  absolutely  steady,  and  there  must  be  no  wavering, 
no  tremolo,  no  uncertainty.     This  means  absolute  breath  control. 

4.  The  tones  must  follow  one  another  without  break,  unless  the  character 
of  the  music  demands  detached  effects;  in  other  words,  there  must  be  a  perfect 
legato.  The  tones  must  also  follow  each  other  cleanly,  unless  the  character 
of  the  music  makes  the  use  of  portamento  desirable. 

5.  The  singer  must  feel  the  mood  of  each  song,  and  must  sing  as  he  feels, 
if  he  is  to  perform  with  real  expression.  This  is  a  much  more  vital  matter  in 
song  interpretation  than  the  mere  mechanical  observation  of  tempo  and 
dynamic  indications. 

6.  The  text  must  be  enunciated  with  sufficient  clarity  to  enable  the  audi- 
ence to  catch  at  least  the  most  important  ideas  presented.  This  involves 
not  only  the  complete  pronunciation  of  each  syllable  instead  of  the  slovenly 
half -pronunciation  so  commonly  heard;  but  implies  as  well  that  the  soxmds 
be  formed  well  forward  in  the  mouth  instead  of  back  in  the  throat. 

If  the  singing  of  a  soloist  or  a  chorus  can  meet  the 
test  of  these  requirements,  the  singing  may  be  called 
good. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

The  Art  of  Program  Making 

THE  PROBLEM       In  constructing  a  concert  program  for 
STATED  either  a  solo  or  an  ensemble  perform- 

ance, and  in  the  case  of  both  vocal 
and  instrumental  music,  at  least  five  important  points 
must  be  taken  into  consideration: 

1.  Variety. 

2.  Unity. 

3.  Effective  arrangement. 

4.  Appropriate  length. 

5.  Adaptability  to  audience. 

VARIETY  We  have  given  variety  first  place  advisedly; 
for  it  is  by  changing  the  style  and  particularly 
through  varying  the  emotional  quahty  of  the  selections 
that  the  conductor  or  performer  will  find  it  most  easy  to 
hold  the  attention  and  interest  of  the  audience.  In  these 
days  the  matter  of  keeping  an  audience  interested  presents 
far  greater  difficulty  than  formerly,  for  our  audiences 
are  now  much  more  accustomed  to  hearing  good  music 
than  they  used  to  be,  and  a  performance  that  is  mod- 
erately good  and  that  would  probably  have  held  the 
attention  from  beginning  to  end  in  the  olden  days  will 
now  often  be  received  with  yawning,  coughing,  whisper- 
ing, early  leaving,  and  a  spirit  of  -uneasiness  permeating 
the  entire  audience,  especially  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  program.  The  change  of  etiquette  brought  about 
by  the  phenomenal  popularization  of  the  moving  picture 
theater  has  doubtless  had  something  to  do  with  this 
change  in  the  attitude  of  our  audiences;  the  spread  of 
musical  knowledge  and  the  far  greater  intelligence  con- 


THE  ART  OF  PROGRAM  MAKING  141 

ceming  musical  performance  manifested  by  the  average 
audience  of  today  as  compared  with  that  of  fifty  years 
ago  is  also  partly  responsible;  but  the  brunt  of  the 
charge  must  be  borne  by  our  habitual  attitude  of  ner- 
vous hurry,  our  impatience  with  slow  processes  of  any 
kind,  and  the  demand  for  constant  change  of  sensation 
that  is  coming  to  characterize  Americans  of  all  ages  and 
classes.  It  is  doubtless  unfortunate  that  conditions  are 
as  they  are;  but  since  the  attitude  of  our  audiences  has 
admittedly  undergone  a  decided  change,  it  behooves 
the  program  maker  to  face  conditions  as  they  actually 
exist,  rather  than  to  pretend  that  they  are  as  he  should 
like  them  to  be.  Since  our  audiences  are  harder  to 
hold  now  than  formerly,  and  since  our  first-class  per- 
formers (except  possibly  in  the  case  of  orchestral  music) 
are  probably  not  greatly  above  the  level  of  the  first-class 
performers  of  a  generation  ago  (although  larger  in  num- 
ber), it  will  be  necessary  to  keep  the  listener  interested 
by  employing  methods  of  program  making,  which, 
although  they  have  always  been  not  only  entirely  legi- 
timate but  highly  desirable,  are  now  absolutely  neces- 
sary. As  stated  above,  the  obvious  way  to  help  our 
audience  to  listen  to  an  entire  concert  is  to  provide 
variety  of  material — a  heavy  number  followed  by  a 
hght  one;  a  slow,  flowing  adagio  by  a  bright  snappy 
scherzo;  a  tragic  and  emotionally  taxing  song  like  the 
Erl-King  by  a  sunny  and  optimistic  lyric;  a  song  or  a 
group  of  songs  in  major  possibly  reheved  by  one  in 
minor;  a  coloratura  aria  by  a  song  in  cantabile  style;  a 
group  of  songs  in  French  by  a  group  in  English;  a  com- 
position in  severe  classic  style  by  one  of  romantic  tend- 
ency, et  cetera.  These  contrasting  elements  are  not,  of 
course,  to  be  introduced  exactly  as  they  are  here  listed, 
and  this  series  of  possible  contrasts  is  cited  rather  to 
give  the  amateur  maker  of  programs  an  idea  of  what  is 
meant  by  contrast  rather  than  to  lay  down  rules  to  be 
followed  in  the  actual  construction  of  programs. 


142  ESSENTIALS  IN   CONDUCTING 

UNITY  But  while  contrast  is  necessary  to  keep  the 
audience  from  becoming  bored  or  weary,  there 
must  not  be  so  much  variety  that  a  lack  of  unity  is  felt 
in  the  program  as  a  whole.  It  must  be  constructed  like 
a  symphony — out  of  material  that  has  variety  and  yet 
that  all  belongs  together.  In  other  words,  the  program, 
like  a  musical  composition,  must  achieve  unity  in  variety; 
and  this  is  the  second  main  problem  confronting  the  con- 
ductor or  performer  who  is  planning  a  concert.  It  is 
impossible  to  give  specific  directions  as  to  how  unity  is 
to  be  secured,  for  this  is  a  matter  to  be  determined 
almost  wholly  upon  the  basis  of  taste,  and  taste  is  not 
subjectable  to  codification.  The  most  that  we  can  do 
for  the  amateur  at  this  point,  as  at  so  many  others,  is 
to  set  before  him  the  main  problem  involved,  and  in 
constructing  a  program,  this  is  undoubtedly  to  provide 
variety  of  material  and  yet  to  select  numbers  that  go 
well  together  and  seem  to  cohere  as  a  unified  group. 

LENGTH  Our  third  question  in  making  a  program  of 
musical  works  is,  how  long  shall  it  be?  The 
answer  is,  *Tt  depends  upon  the  quality  of  the  audience." 
An  audience  composed  largely  of  trained  concert-goers, 
many  of  whom  are  themselves  musicians,  can  listen  to 
a  program  composed  of  interesting  works  and  presented 
by  a  first-rate  artist  even  though  it  extends  through  a 
period  of  two  and  a  half  hours,  although  on  general  prin- 
ciples a  two-hour  program  is  probably  long  enough. 
But  one  made  up  mostly  of  people  who  have  had  very 
little  musical  training,  who  read  little  except  the  daily 
newspaper  and  the  hghtest  sort  of  fiction,  and  whose 
chief  amusement  is  probably  attendance  upon  the  pic- 
ture show, — such  an  audience  must  not  be  expected  to 
listen  to  a  program  that  is  either  too  heavy  or  too  long; 
and  our  judgment  is  that  for  such  a  group  a  program 
an  hour  and  a  half  long  is  probably  more  suitable  than 
one  of  two  or  two  and  a  half  hours.     Our  feeling  is. 


THE  ART  OF  PROGRAM  MAKING  143 

furthermore,  that  the  "tired  business  man"  would  not 
object  so  strenuously  to  attending  the  serious  musical 
performances  to  which  his  wife  urges  him  to  go  if  some 
of  these  matters  were  considered  more  carefully  by  the 
artist  in  planning  the  program!  But  here  again,  of 
course,  we  have  a  matter  which  depends  altogether 
upon  the  kind  of  music  presented,  whether  the  entire 
program  is  given  by  one  artist  or  whether  there  are 
several  performers,  whether  the  whole  program  is  of 
one  kind  of  music  or  whether  there  is  variety  of  voice 
and  instrument,  whether  the  performers  are  amateurs 
or  professionals,  and  upon  whether  the  performer  is  an 
artist  of  the  first  rank  and  is  able  by  his  perfection  of 
technique,  his  beauty  of  tone,  and  his  emotional  verve, 
to  hold  his  audience  spellbound  for  an  indefinite  length 
of  time,  or  whether  he  belongs  to  the  second  or  third 
rank  of  performers  and  is  able  to  arouse  only  an  average 
amount  of  interest.  Our  purpose  in  including  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  matter  is  principally  in  order  that  we 
may  have  an  opportunity  of  warning  the  amateur  con- 
ductor not  to  cause  an  audience  which  would  probably 
give  favorable  consideration  to  a  short  program,  to 
become  weary  and  critical  by  compelling  them  to  sit 
through  too  long  a  performance.  This  is  particularly 
true  in  the  case  of  amateur  performance;  and  since  this 
book  is  written  chiefly  for  the  amateur  director,  it  may 
not  be  out  of  order  to  advise  him  at  this  point  to  plan 
programs  not  more  than  an  hour  or  an  hour  and  a  quar- 
ter long,  at  first.  It  is  far  better  to  have  the  audience 
leaving  the  auditorium  wishing  the  program  had  been 
longer  than  to  have  them  grumbling  because  it  is  too 
long. 

ADAPTABILITY      Our  fourth  problem  has  already  been 

TO  AUDIENCES     presented  in  discussing  the  other  three, 

for  it  is  because  of   the   necessity  of 

adapting  the  performance  to  the  audience  that  we  have 


144  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

insisted  upon  variety,  unity,  and  reasonable  length. 
Many  a  concert  has  turned  out  to  be  an  utter  fiasco 
because  of  failure  on  the  part  of  the  program  maker  to 
consider  the  type  of  people  who  were  to  listen  to  it; 
and  although  on  such  occasions  it  is  customary  for  the 
performer  to  ascribe  his  failure  to  the  stupidity  of  the 
audience,  it  must  nevertheless  be  acknowledged  that 
the  fault  is  more  commonly  to  be  laid  at  the  door  of  the 
one  who  planned  the  event.  A  program  composed  of 
two  symphonies  and  an  overture  or  two,  or  of  two  or  three 
Beethoven  sonatas,  is  not  a  suitable  meal  for  the  con- 
glomerate crowd  comprising  the  "average  audience"; 
indeed  it  is  doubtful  whether  in  general  it  is  the  best 
kind  of  diet  for  any  group  of  listeners.  Here  again  we 
cannot  give  specific  directions,  since  conditions  vary 
greatly,  and  we  must  content  ourselves  once  more 
with  having  opened  up  the  problem  for  thought  and 
discussion. 

EFFECTIVE  Having  selected  musical  material  that 

ARRANGEMENT  jg  varied  in  content  and  yet  appropriate 
for  performance  upon  the  same  pro- 
gram; having  taken  into  consideration  what  kind  of 
music  is  adapted  to  our  audience  and  how  much  of  it 
they  will  probably  be  able  to  Ksten  to  without  becoming 
weary;  our  final  problem  will  now  be  so  to  arrange  the 
numbers  that  each  one  will  be  presented  at  the  point  in 
the  program  where  it  will  be  likely  to  be  most  favorably 
received,  and  will  make  the  most  lasting  impression 
upon  the  auditors. 

In  general,  of  course,  the  heavier  part  of  the  program 
should  usually  come  in  the  first  half  and  the  lighter 
part  in  the  second,  for  the  simple  reason  that  it  is  at  the 
beginning  that  our  minds  and  bodies  are  fresh  and  un- 
wearied, and  since  we  are  able  to  give  closer  attention  at 
that  time  we  should  accordingly  be  supplied  with  the 
more  strenuous  music  when  we  are  best  able  to  digest 


THE  ART  OF  PROGRAM  MAKING  145 

it.  But  although  this  is  doubtless  true  in  most  cases, 
we  have  often  noticed  that  audiences  are  restless  during 
the  first  part  of  the  concert,  and  frequently  do  not  get 
"warmed  up"  to  the  point  of  giving  close  attention  to 
the  performance  until  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  after  the 
program  begins,  and  sometimes  not  until  the  second 
half  has  been  reached.  For  this  reason,  and  also  to 
cover  the  distraction  arising  from  the  entrance  of  the 
ubiquitous  late-comer,  it  seems  best  to  us  that  some 
shorter  and  lighter  work  be  placed  at  the  very  beginning 
of  the  program — possibly  an  overture,  in  the  case  of  a 
symphony  concert.  The  phenomenon  here  alluded  to 
has  an  exact  parallel  in  the  church  service.  When  we 
enter  the  church,  we  are  thinking  about  all  sorts  of 
things  connected  with  our  daily  life,  and  it  takes  us  some 
little  time  to  forget  these  extraneous  matters  and  adjust 
ourselves  to  the  spirit  of  a  church  service,  and  particu- 
larly to  get  into  the  appropriate  mood  for  listening  to  a 
sermon.  The  organ  prelude  and  other  preliminary  parts 
of  the  service  have  as  their  partial  function,  at  least,  the 
transference  of  our  thoughts  and  attitudes  from  their 
former  chaotic  and  egoistic  state  to  one  more  appropriate 
to  the  demands  of  the  more  serious  part  of  the  service 
to  follow.  Somewhat  the  same  sort  of  thing  is  found  in 
the  case  of  the  majority  of  people  who  go  to  a  concert 
hall  for  an  evening's  performance,  and  although  the 
end  to  be  attained  is  of  course  altogether  different,  yet 
the  method  should  probably  be  somewhat  the  same.  Our 
feeUng  is  therefore  that  there  ought  usually  to  be  some 
comparatively  light  number  at  the  beginning  of  the  con- 
cert program  in  order  that  we  may  be  assisted  in  getting 
into  the  listening  mood  before  the  heavier  works  are 
presented.  On  the  other  hand,  an  artist  often  plunges 
into  a  difficult  composition  at  the  very  beginning  of 
the  concert,  and  by  his  marvelous  technique  or  his 
tremendous  emotional  vitality  sweeps  his  audience  im- 
mediately into  an  attitude  of  rapt  attention;  all  of  which 


146  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

proves  again  that  art  is  intangible,  subtle,  and  ever-vary- 
ing— ^as  we  stated  at  the  beginning. 

THE  IMPORTANCE  In  concluding  our  very  brief  state- 
OF  SMALL  DETAILS  m^nt  of  program-making,  it  may  be 
well  to  mention  the  fact  that  small 
details  often  have  a  good  deal  to  do  with  the  failure  of 
audiences  to  follow  the  program  with  as  keen  attention 
as  might  be  desired.  These  details  are  often  overlooked 
or  disdained  merely  because  they  seem  too  trifling  to 
make  it  worth  the  artist's  while  to  notice  them;  but  by 
seeing  to  it  that  the  concert  hall  is  well  warmed  (or  well 
cooled),  that  it  is  well  lighted  and  well  ventilated;  that 
the  doors  are  closed  when  the  first  number  begins,  and 
that  no  one  is  allowed  to  enter  during  the  performance  of 
any  number;  that  there  are  no  long  waits  either  at  the 
beginning  or  between  numbers;  that  unnecessary  street 
and  other  outside  noises  are  stopped  or  shut  out  so  far 
as  practicable;  and  that  the  printed  program  (if  it  has 
more  than  one  sheet)  is  so  arranged  that  the  pages  do  not 
have  to  be  turned  while  compositions  are  being  performed 
— by  providing  in  advance  for  someone  who  will  see  to 
all  these  little  matters,  the  artist  may  often  be  rewarded 
by  a  fine  type  of  concentrated  attention  which  would  not 
be  possible  if  the  minds  of  the  individuals  comprising  the 
audience  were  being  distracted  by  these  other  things. 

The  printer  too  bears  no  small  responsibility  in  this 
matter  of  having  an  audience  follow  a  program  with  un- 
diminished attention  from  beginning  to  end,  and  there 
is  no  doubt  that  the  tastefully  printed  page  (and  par- 
ticularly if  there  are  explanatory  remarks  concerning  the 
composer,  style,  meaning  of  the  composition,  et  cetera) 
will  usually  be  followed  with  much  keener  attention  than 
one  the  parts  of  which  have  merely  been  thrown  to- 
gether. The  reason  for  this  we  shall  leave  for  some  one 
else  to  discuss — ^possibly  some  writer  of  the  future  upon 
"the  psychology  of  the  printed  page." 


CHAPl  ER  XV 

Conductor  and  Accompanist 

NECESSITY  OF     In  chorus  directing,  it  is  of  the  utmost 

CORDIAL  importance  that  conductor  and  accom- 

RELATION  •  4.        .        1  J       X        1  .1 

pamst  not  only  understand  one  another 

thoroughly,  but  that  the  relationship  between  them  be  so 

sympathetic,  so  cordial,  that  there  may  never  be  even  a 

hint  of  non-unity  in  the  ensemble.     The  unskilful  or 

unsympathetic  accompanist  may  utterly  ruin  the  effect 

of  the  most  capable  conducting;   and  the  worst  of  it  is 

that  if  the  accompanist  is  lacking  in  cordiahty  toward  the 

conductor,  he  can  work  his  mischief  so  subtly  as  to  make 

it  appear  to  all  concerned  as  if  the  conductor  himself 

were  to  blame  for  the  ununified  attacks  and  ragged 

rhythms. 


* 


CHOOSING  THE  In  order  to  obviate  the  disadvantages 
ACCOMPANIST  ^^^^^  ^P^  likely  to  arise  from  having  a 
poor  accompanist,  the  conductor  must 
exercise  the  greatest  care  in  choosing  his  coworker. 
Unless  he  knows  of  some  one  concerning  whose  ability 
there  is  no  question,  the  best  plan  is  probably  to  have 
several  candidates  compete  for  the  position;  and  in  this 
case,  the  points  to  be  especially  watched  for  are  as 
follows : 

1.  Adequate  technique. 

2.  Good  reading  ability. 

3.  Sympathetic  response  to  vocal  nuaiice. 

4.  Willingness  to  cooperate  and  to  accept  suggestions. 

'"  On  the  other  hand,  the  conductor  sometimes  shifts  the  responsibility  for  mishaps  to 
the  accompanist  when  the  latter  is  in  no  wise  to  blame,  as,  e.g.,  when  the  organ  ciphers 
or  It  page  docs  not  turn  properly. 


148  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

Of  these  four,  the  last  two  are  by  no  means  the  least 
important;  and  sometimes  it  is  better  to  choose  the 
person  who  has  less  skill  in  reading  or  technique  but  who 
has  sufficient  innate  musical  feeling  to  enable  him  not 
only  to  follow  a  soloist's  voice  or  a  conductor's  beat  in- 
telligently, but  even  to  anticipate  the  dynamic  and  tempo 
changes  made  by  singer  or  conductor. 

The  minds  of  conductor  and  accompanist  must  work 
as  one.  In  stopping  his  chorus  for  a  correction,  it  should 
be  possible  for  the  conductor  to  assume  that  the  accom- 
panist has  followed  him  so  carefully  and  is  in  such  close 
musical  rapport  with  him  that,  before  the  conductor 
speaks,  the  accompanist  has  already  found  the  badly 
executed  passage,  and  the  instant  the  conductor  cites 
page  and  score,  is  ready  to  play  the  phrase  or  interval 
that  was  wrongly  rendered .  The  same  sort  of  thing  ought 
of  course  to  take  place  whenever  there  is  a  change  of 
tempo,  and  it  is  to  be  noted  that  in  all  these  cases  the 
accompanist  must  make  a  musical  response  to  the  con- 
ductor's interpretation,  and  not  merely  an  obedient  one. 

COURTEOUS  Having  chosen  the  best  available  p)erson 
TREATMENT  ^q  ^q  ^Jj^  accompanying,  the  next  thing 
in  order  will  be  to  treat  the  accompanist 
in  such  a  way  that  he  will  always  do  his  best  and  be  a 
real  help  in  causing  the  chorus  to  produce  effective 
results.  Next  to  the  conductor,  the  accompanist  is  un- 
doubtedly the  most  important  factor  in  producing  fine 
choral  singing;  hence  our  .reference  to  the  accompanist 
as  the  conductor's  coworker.  The  first  thing  to  note 
in  connection  with  getting  the  best  possible  help  from 
the  accompanist  is  that  he  shall  always  be  treated  in  a 
pleasant,  courteous  way,  and  the  conductor  must  learn 
at  the  very. outset  not  to  exjject  impossible  things  from 
him;  not  to  blame  him  for  things  that  may  go  wrong 
when  some  one  else  is  really  responsible;  and  in  general, 
to  do  his  utmost  to  bring  about  and  to  maintain  friendly, 


CONDUCTOR  AND  ACCOMPANIST  149 

pleasant  relations.  This  will  mean  a  smile  of  approval 
when  the  accompanist  has  done  particularly  well ;  it  may 
involve  publicly  sharing  honors  with  him  after  a  well 
rendered  performance;  and  it  certainly  imphes  a  recep- 
tive attitude  on  the  conductor's  part  if  the  accompanist 
is  sufficiently  interested  to  make  occasional  suggestions 
about  the  rendition  of  the  music. 

If  you  as  conductor  find  it  necessary  to  make  criticisms 
or  suggestions  to  the  accompanist,  do  this  privately,  not 
in  the  presence  of  the  chorus.  Much  of  the  sting  of  a 
criticism  frequently  results  from  the  fact  that  others  have 
heard  it,  and  very  often  if  the  matter  is  brought  up  with 
the  utmost  frankness  in  a  private  interview,  no  bad  blood 
will  result,  but  if  a  quarter  as  much  be  said  in  the  pres- 
ence of  others,  a  rankling  wound  may  remain  which  will 
make  it  extremely  difficult  for  the  conductor  and  accom- 
panist to  do  good  musical  work  together  thenceforth. 

NECESSITY  OF  One  of  the  best  ways  to  save  time 

PROVIDING  THE  ^^  j-j^^  rehearsal  is  to  provide  the 

MUSIC  IN  ADVANCE  •   .         .1     .,  •      •  , 

accompanist  with  the  music  in  ad- 
vance. Even  a  skilful  reader  will  do  more  intelligent 
work  the  first  time  a  composition  is  taken  up  if  he  has 
had  an  opportunity  to  go  through  it  beforehand.  This 
may  involve  considerable  trouble  on  the  conductor's 
part,  but  his  effort  will  be  well  rewarded  in  the  much 
more  effective  support  that  the  accompanist  will  be  able 
to  furnish  if  he  has  had  an  opportunity  to  look  over  the 
music.  When  the  accompanist  is  not  a  good  reader, 
it  is,  of  course,  absolutely  imperative  that  he  not  only 
be  given  an  opportunity  to  study  the  score  in  advance, 
but  that  he  be  required  to  do  so.  If  in  such  a  case  the 
conductor  does  not  see  to  it  that  a  copy  of  the  music 
is  placed  in  the  accompanist's  hands  several  days  before 
each  rehearsal,  he  will  simply  be  digging  his  own  grave, 
figuratively  speaking,  and  will  have  no  one  but  himself 
to  blame  for  the  poor  results  that  are  bound  to  follow. 


150  ESSENTIALS  IN   CONDUCTING 

ORGAN  If  the  accompaniments  are  played  on 

ACCOMPANYING  ^jj^  organ,  the  conductor  will  need 
to  take  into  consideration  the  fact 
that  preparing  and  manipulating  stops,  pistons,  and 
combination  pedals  takes  time,  and  he  will  therefore 
not  expect  the  organist  to  be  ready  to  begin  to  play  the 
instant  he  takes  his  place  on  the  bench;  neither  will  he 
be  unreasonable  enough  to  assume  that  the  organist 
ought  to  be  ready  to  pass  from  one  number  to  another 
{e.g.,  from  a  solo  accompaniment  to  a  chorus)  without 
being  given  a  reasonable  amount  of  time  for  arranging 
the  organ.  The  fact  that  in  such  a  case  the  accompanist 
has  been  working  continuously,  whereas  the  director  has 
had  an  opportunity  of  resting  during  the  solo  number, 
ought  also  to  be  taken  into  consideration;  and  it  may 
not  be  unreasonable  for  the  organist  to  wish  for  a 
moment's  pause  in  order  that  he  may  adjust  his  mental 
attitude  from  that  demanded  by  the  preceding  number 
to  that  which  is  appropriate  to  the  number  to  follow. 
All  this  is  especially  to  be  noted  in  performances  of 
sacred  music,  in  which  no  time  is  taken  between  the 
numbers  for  applause.  In  any  case,  the  least  the  con- 
ductor can  do  is  to  watch  for  the  organist  to  look  up 
after  he  has  prepared  the  organ,  and  then  to  signal 
him  pleasantly  with  a  nod  and  a  smile  that  he  is  ready 
to  go  on  with  the  next  number.  This  will  not  only  in- 
sure complete  preparedness  of  the  organ,  but  will  help 
"oil  the  machinery"  and  keep  relations  pleasant. 

The  conductor  of  a  church  choir  should  remember  that 
the  organist  has  probably  studied  and  is  familiar  with 
the  dynamic  resources  of  his  instrument  to  a  much 
greater  extent  than  the  conductor;  and  that  many 
times  the  organist  is  not  depending  upon  his  ear  in  decid- 
ing the  amount  of  organ  needed,  so  much  as  upon  his 
knowledge  of  what  the  total  effect  will  be  in  the  audi- 
torium. It  is  frequently  impossible  to  tell  from  the 
choir  loft  how  loud  or  how  soft  the  sound  of  the  organ 


CONDUCTOR  AND  ACCOMPANIST  151 

is  in  the  body  of  the  house.  The  conductor,  not  know- 
ing the  dynamic  values  of  the  various  stop  combinations 
as  well  as  the  organist,  must  not  presume  to  criticize 
the  latter  for  playing  too  loudly  or  too  softly  unless  he 
has  gone  down  into  the  auditorium  to  judge  the  effect 
there.  Even  this  is  not  an  absolute  guide,  for  the 
balance  is  very  likely  to  be  different  when  the  auditorium 
is  full  of  people  from  what  it  was  when  empty.  More- 
over, the  amount  of  choral  tone  frequently  increases 
greatly  under  the  stimulus  of  pubKc  performance.  All 
in  all,  therefore,  a  good  organist  should  be  permitted  to 
use  his  own  judgment  in  this  matter.  In  any  case,  do 
not  resort  to  conspicuous  gestures  to  let  him  know  that 
there  is  too  much  or  too  little  organ.  He  has  probably 
discovered  it  as  soon  as  you  have,  and  will  add  or  sub- 
tract as  soon  as  it  can  be  done  without  making  an  in- 
artistic break  in  the  dynamic  continuity  of  the  accom- 
paniment. If  a  signal  becomes  absolutely  necessary, 
make  it  as  inconspicuously  as  possible. 

ACCOMPANIST     We  have  previously  stressed  the  fact  that 

MUST  SEE  ^jjg  conductor  must  stand  so  that  his  beat 

DIRECTOR  u  1  u       n       ^  a 

may  be  easily  seen  by  all  performers;  and 

this  matter  is  of  the  utmost  importance  in  connection 
with  the  accompanist.  He  must  be  able  to  see  you 
easily  if  he  is  to  follow  your  beat  accurately;  further,  he 
should  be  able  to  see  your  face  as  well  as  your  baton, 
if  a  really  sympathetic  musical  relationship  is  to  exist. 
This  may  appear  to  be  a  small  point,  but  its  non-observ- 
ance is  responsible  for  many  poor  attacks  and  for  much 
"dragging"  and  "running  away"  on  the  part  of  accom- 
panists. 

The  sum  and  substance  of  the  whole  matter  may  be 
epitomized  in  the  advice,  "Be  courteous,  considerate, 
and  sensible  in  dealing  with  your  accompanist  and  verily 
thou  shalt  receive  \hy  reward!" 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Efficiency  in  the  Rehearsal 

ORGANIZING  ABILITY  Having  now  reviewed  the  various 
NEEDED  TO  AVOID  essentials  in  conducting  from  the 
WASTING  TIME  *      j      •   4.     i-       ur        Ze 

standpomt  01  public  performance, 

we  wish  emphatically  to  state  our  conviction  that  in 
many  cases  both  choruses  and  orchestras  have  been  short- 
lived, being  abandoned  after  a  season  or  two  of  more  or 
less  unsatisfactory  work,  directly  as  a  result  of  the  in- 
efficient methods  used  by  the  conductor  in  the  rehearsal. 
In  an  earlier  chapter  (p.  18)  we  noted  that  the  success- 
ful conductor  of  the  present  day  must  possess  a  personal- 
ity combining  traits  almost  opposite  in  their  nature;  viz., 
artistry  and  organizing  ability.  We  were  referring  at  that 
time  to  business  sense  in  general  as  needed  by  the  con- 
ductor in  selectingt  works  to  be  performed,  deciding  upon 
the  place,  duration,  and  number  of  rehearsal  periods, 
engaging  artists  to  assist  in  the  public  performances,  and 
in  general,  seeing  to  it  that  the  business  details  of  the 
organization  are  attended  to  in  an  efficient  manner.  But 
such  organizing  abiUty  is  needed  most  of  all  in  planning 
and  conducting  the  rehearsal,  and  there  is  no  doubt 
that  mediocre  results  at  the  public  performance  and  not 
infrequently  the  actual  breaking  up  of  amateur  organiza- 
tions may  be  traced  more  often  to  the  inabihty  of  the 
conductor  to  make  the  best  use  of  his  time  in  the  always 
inadequate  rehearsal  hour  than  to  any  other  source.  It 
is  for  this  reason  that  we  have  thought  best  to  devote  an 
entire  chapter  to  a  discussion  of  what  might  be  termed 
"The  Technique  of  the  Rehearsal." 


EFFICIENCY  IN  THE  REHEARSAL  153 

EFFICIENCY  NOT  The  word  e^wiency  has  been  used  so 
A  DESTROYER  OF  frequently  in  recent  years  that  it  has 
IDEALISM  +     u     •        1         /       u   J     J 

come  to  be  m  almost  as  bad  odor  as 

the  word  artistic^  as  employed  by  the  would-be  critic  of 
esthetic  effects.  This  antipathy  to  the.  word  is  perhaps 
most  pronounced  on  the  part  of  the  artist,  and  there 
has  been  a  well-defined  feeling  on  the  part  of  a  good  many 
of  us  that  efficiency  and  advancement  in  art  appreciation 
do  not  perhaps  go  hand-in-hand  as  much  as  might  be 
desired.  Granting  the  vahdity  of  this  criticism  of  effi- 
ciency as  a  national  ideal,  it  must  nevertheless  be  evident 
that  the  artist  has  in  the  past  been  far  too  little  con- 
cerned with  life's  business  affairs,  and  that  both  he  and 
his  family  on  the  one  hand,  and  those  having  business 
relations  with  him  on  the  other  would  be  far  better  off 
if  the  artist  would  cultivate  a  more  businessHke  attitude 
in  his  relationships  with  the  rest  of  the  world.  However 
this  may  be  in  general,  it  is  certain  that  the  conductor 
of  the  present  must  take  more  definitely  into  considera- 
tion what  is  going  on  outside  the  world  of  art;  must  rec- 
ognize the  fact  that  this  is  now  a  busy  world  and  that 
there  are  a  great  many  interesting  things  to  do  and  a 
great  many  more  distractions  and  amusements  than 
there  were  a  half -century  ago;  and  that  if  the  members 
of  a  chorus  or  orchestra  (particularly  in  the  case  of  an 
amateur  society)  are  to  continue  to  attend  rehearsals 
regularly  and  to  keep  up  their  enthusiasm  for  the  work 
of  the  organization,  the  conductor  must  see  to  it  that 
something  tangible  is  accomphshed  not  only  during  each 
season,  but  in  each  and  every  practice  hour,  and  that 
regular  attendance  at  the  rehearsals  does  not  cause  the 
members  to  feel  that  they  are  wasting  time  and  energy. 
This  is,  after  all,  the  essence  of  scientific  management — 
to  accomplish  some  desired  result  without  any  waste 
moves  and  without  squandering  valuable  material;  and 
surely  no  artistic  loss  will  be  involved  if  efficiency  of  this 
type  is  applied  to  conducting  a  musical  rehearsal.     On 


154  ESSENTIALS  IN   CONDUCTING 

the  contrary,  the  apphcation  of  such  methods  will  enable 
the  conductor  to  secure  a  much  higher  degree  of  artistry 
in  the  pubhc  performance  because,  by  avoiding  any 
waste  of  time  in  rehearsing,  he  will  be  able  to  put  the 
musicians  through  the  music  more  often,  and  thus  not 
only  arouse  greater  confidence  on  their  part,  but  be 
enabled  to  emphasize  more  strongly  the  interpretative, 
the  artistic  asp>ect  of  the  music.  Most  of  the  rehearsal 
hour  is  often  spent  in  drilling  upon  mere  correctness 
of  tone  and  rhythm,  especially  in  the  case  of  amateur 
organizations. 

In  order  to  make  these  matters  as  concrete  and  prac- 
tical as  possible,  we  shall  give  in  the  remainder  of  this 
chapter  a  series  of  somewhat  unrelated  suggestions 
about  conducting  an  ensemble  rehearsal,  trusting  that 
the  reader  will  forgive  the  didactic  (and  possibly  pe- 
dantic) language  in  which  they  are  couched. 

PLANNING  Do  not  make  the  mistake  of  attempting 

THE  REHEARSAL  ^q  study  your  score  at  the  same  time 
that  your  singers  or  players  are  learn- 
ing it.  Study  your  music  exhaustively  beforehand  so 
that  at  the  rehearsal  you  may  know  definitely  just  what 
you  are  going  to  do  with  each  selection  and  may  be  able 
to  give  pointed  directions  as  to  its  rendition.  This  will 
enable  you  to  look  at  your  performers  most  of  the  time, 
and  the  freedom  from  the  score  thus  allowed  will  make 
your  conducting  very  much  more  effective  and  will 
enable  you  to  stir  your  singers  out  of  their  state  of  inertia 
very  much  more  quickly.  Weingartner,  in  writing  upon 
this  point  (with  especial  reference  to  the  public  per- 
formance) says:*  "He  should  know  it  [the  score]  so 
thoroughly  that  during  the  performance  the  score  is 
merely  a  support  for  his  memory,  not  a  fetter  on  his 
thought."  The  same  writer  in  another  place  quotes 
von  Billow  as  dividing  conductors  into  "those  who  have 

*  Weingartner,  On  Condacling,  p.  43. 


EFFICIENCY  IN  THE  REHEARSAL  155 

their  heads  in  the  score,  and  those  who  have  the  score 
in  their  heads"! 

Study  the  individual  voice  parts,  so  as  to  find  out 
so  far  as  possible  beforehand  where  the  difficult  spots  are 
and  mark  these  with  blue  p)encil,  so  that  when  you  want 
to  drill  on  these  places,  you  may  be  able  to  put  your 
finger  on  them  quickly.  It  is  very  easy  to  lose  the  atten- 
tion of  your  performers  by  delay  in  finding  the  place 
which  you  want  them  to  practise.  It  is  a  good  plan,  also, 
to  mark  with  blue  pencil  some  of  the  more  important  dy- 
namic and  tempo  changes  so  that  these  may  be  obvious  to 
the  eye  when  you  are  standing  several  feet  from  the  desk. 

Decide  beforehand  upon  some  plan  of  studying  each 
composition,  and  if  a  number  of  works  are  to  be  taken  up 
at  any  given  rehearsal,  think  over  in  advance  the  order 
in  which  they  are  to  be  studied.  In  brief,  make  a  plan  for 
each  rehearsal,  writing  it  out  if  necessary,  and  thus 
avoid  wasting  time  in  deciding  what  is  to  be  done. 

In  case  you  are  a  choir  director,  learn  also  to  plan  your 
services  weeks  or  even  months  in  advance,*  and  then 
keep  working  toward  the  complete  carrying  out  of  your 
plan  by  familiarizing  your  musicians  with  the  material 
as  far  in  advance  of  the  public  performance  as  possible. 
In  this  way  the  music  is  absorbed,  as  it  were,  and  the 
singers  and  players  are  much  more  apt  to  feel  at  ease  in 
performing  it  than  when  it  has  been  taken  up  at  only 
one  or  two  rehearsals. 

DISCIPLINE  IN  It  is  impossible  to  conduct  well  unless 
THE  REHEARSAL  y^^  j^^^g  ^^^  absolute  attention  of 
every  singer  or  player.  Hence  the  dis- 
cipline at  all  rehearsals  must  be  rather  strict  and  the 
f)erformers  must  be  trained  to  keep  their  eyes  on  you 
practically  all  the  time.  (In  the  case  of  choral  music, 
it  would  be  well  to  have  a  great  deal  more  of  it  entirely 

♦  'I'he  complete  ILst  of  works  to  be  given  by  leading  symphony  orchestras  during  the 
entire  season  is  usually  decidtxl  upon  during  the  preceding  summer,  and  somewhat  the 
eame  procedure  might  prolitably  l>e  followed  with  a  church  choir  or  an  amateur  orchestra. 


1.58  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

cominitted  to  memory  so  that  at  the  performance  the 
singers  might  be  enabled  to  give  the  conductor  their 
absolute  attention.)  You  have  a  perfect  right  to  demand 
that  all  shall  work  industriously  during  every  working 
minute  of  the  rehearsal  hour  and  that  there  shall  be  no 
whispering  or  fooling  whatsoever,  either  while  you  are 
giving  directions,  or  while  you  are  conducting.  If  you 
are  unfortunate  enough  to  have  in  your  organization 
certain  individuals  who  do  not  attend  to  the  work  in 
hand  even  after  a  private  admonition,  it  will  be  far  better 
to  drop  them  from  the  organization,  for  they  are  bound 
to  do  more  harm  than  good  if  they  are  retained.  On  the 
other  hand,  you  will  recognize  the  temptation  to  whisper 
which  the  performer  feels  while  you  are  giving  a  long- 
winded  explanation  of  some  pet  theory  of  yours,  and  you 
will  accordingly  cut  down  the  amount  of  talking  you  do  to 
the  minimum.  A  good  rule  to  follow  is  this:  "Talk  little 
at  the  rehearsal,  but  when  you  do  talk,  be  sure  that  every  one 
listens y  Keep  your  performers  so  busy  that  they  will 
have  no  time  to  think  about  anything  but  the  work  in 
hand.  Plan  plenty  of  work  so  as  to  be  able  to  keep  things 
moving  through  the  entire  hour.  Better  a  rehearsal 
conducted  in  this  way  and  only  one  hour  long,  than  a 
slow-moving,  boresome  affair,  two  hours  in  length.  If 
the  tax  of  such  concentrated  attention  is  too  severe  to 
be  kept  up  constantly  for  an  entire  hour,  plan  to  have 
a  five-minute  intermission  when  everyone  may  talk  and 
laugh  and  thus  relax.  The  author  has  found  that  with 
a  body  of  amateur  singers,  a  ninety-minute  rehearsal, 
with  a  five-  to  seven-minute  intermission  in  the  middle, 
works  very  well  indeed. 

BEGINNING  THE  Do  not  shout  at  your  chorus  or 
REHEARSAL  orchestra  if  the  members  are   noisy. 

Wait  until  the  noise  subsides  en- 
tirely before  you  begin  to  speak,  and  address  them  in  a 
quiet,  dignified,  authoritative  way  when  you  do  begin. 


EFFICIENCY  IN  THE  REHEARSAL  157 

Unless  you  have  some  pointed  remark  to  make  about 
the  rendition  of  the  music,  it  is  far  better  to  give  merely 
the  place  of  beginning  without  making  any  remarks  at 
all.  Securing  quiet  by  a  prolonged  rapping  with  the 
baton  is  a  sign  of  weak  discipHne.  Do  not  rap  at  all 
until  the  music  is  distributed,  the  accompanist  in  his 
place  and  ready  to  begin,  your  score  open,  and  until  you 
know  exactly  what  you  are  going  to  do  first.  Then  let 
just  a  slight  tap  or  two  suffice  to  notify  everyone  that 
the  rehearsal  is  to  begin  at  once. 

LEARNING  In  drilling  on  a  difficult  passage,  it  is  usually 
DIFFICULT  better  to  stop  at  the  actual  spot  where  the 
mistake  occurs  than  to  go  on  to  the  end  and 
then  turn  back.  Find  the  exact  spot  that  is  causing 
trouble  and  "reduce  the  area  of  correction  to  its  narrow- 
est limits,"  as  one  writer  *  states  it.  It  is  to  be  noted 
that  merely  one  repetition  of  such  a  passage  is  usually 
of  little  avail.  It  must  be  gone  over  enough  times  to  fix  the 
correct  method  of  rendition  in  mind  and  muscle  as  a  habit. 
If  a  section  sings  a  certain  passage  incorrectly  twice  and 
then  correctly  only  once,  the  chances  are  that  the 
fourth  time  will  be  like  the  first  two  rather  than  like  the 
third.  The  purpose  of  drilling  on  such  a  passage  is  to 
eradicate  the  wrong  impression  entirely  and  substitute 
for  it  an  entirely  new  habit  at  that  point.  After  learn- 
ing a  difficult  tonal  or  rhythmic  phrase  in  this  way,  be 
sure  to  fit  it  into  its  environment  before  assuming  that 
it  has  been  finally  mastered.  The  difficulty  in  such 
passages  often  consists  not  in  performing  the  intervals 
or  rhythms  in  isolation,  but  in  doing  them  while  the 
other  parts  are  going  on. 

LOCATE  DIFFICULT     In  directing  attention  to  some  par- 

SPOTS  QUICKLY  ticular   place    in    the   score    about 

which  you  wish  to  speak,  give  the 

details  of  your  direction  always  in  the  same  order,  viz.: 

*  Richardson,  The  Choir-trainer's  Art,  p.  156. 


158  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

(1)  page,  (2)  score  (or  brace  if  you  prefer),  (3)  measure, 
(4)  beat.  Thus  e.g.,  "Page  47,  second  score,  fourth 
measure,  beginning  with  the  second  beat."  Give  the 
direction  slowly  and  very  distinctly,  and  then  do  not 
repeat  it;  i.e.,  get  your  musicians  into  the  habit  of  listen- 
ing to  you  the  first  time  you  say  a  thing  instead  of  the 
second  or  third.  Carrying  out  this  plan  may  result  in 
confusing  unpreparedness  on  the  part  of  your  singers  or 
players  for  a  time  or  two,  but  if  the  plan  is  adhered  to 
consistently  they  will  very  soon  learn  to  listen  to  your 
first  announcement — and  you  will  save  a  large  amount 
of  both  time  and  energy. 

REHEARSAL  LETTERS  Ensemble  music  is  frequently  sup- 
AND  NUMBERS  plied  with  rehearsal  letters  or  num- 

bers, these  enabling  the  performers 
to  locate  a  passage  very  quickly.  When  not  printed  in 
the  score,  it  will  often  be  a  saving  of  time  for  the  con- 
ductor to  insert  such  letters  or  numbers  in  his  own  copy 
of  the  music  in  advance  of  the  first  rehearsal,  asking  the 
members  to  insert  the  marks  in  their  music  as  he  dic- 
tates their  location  by  page  ^nd  score,  or  by  counting 
measures  in  the  case  of  orchestra  music.  These  letters 
or  numbers  are  best  inserted  with  soft  red  or  blue  pencil. 

THE  "WHOLE  METHOD"  When  a  new  composition  is  to  be 
OF  LEARNING  taken  up,  go  through  it  as  a 

whole  a  few  times,  so  as  to  give 
everyone  a  general  idea  of  its  content  and  of  the  con- 
nection and  relation  of  its  parts.  After  this,  begin  to 
work  at  the  difficult  spots  that  you  have  found,  then 
when  it  begins  to  go  fairly  well,  work  definitely  for 
expressive  rendition.  You  will  of  course  not  expect 
ordinary  performers  to  go  through  the  composition  the 
first  time  in  a  very  artistic  fashion.  If  they  keep  going 
and  do  not  make  too  many  mistakes,  they  will  have 
done  all  that  non-professionals  should  be  expected  to  do. 


EFFICIENCY  IN  THE  REHEARSAL  159 

Psychologists  have  found  as  the  result  of  careful  inves- 
tigation that  the  "whole  method"  of  study  is  much  to 
be  preferred  to  what  might  be  termed  the  "part  method," 
because  of  the  fact  that  a  much  clearer  and  closer  asso- 
ciation between  parts  is  thus  formed,  and  there  is  no 
doubt  but  that  this  point  applies  very  forcibly  to  the 
study  of  music.  In  an  interview  published  in  the  New 
York  World  in  June,  1916,  Harold  Bauer  writes  as  fol- 
lows about  this  matter  as  related  to  piano  music: 

Now,  in  taking  up  a  new  work  for  the  piano,  the  child  could  and  should 
play  right  through  every  page  from  beginning  to  end  for  the  purpose  of  obtain- 
ing a  definite  first  impression  of  the  whole.  A  mess  would  probably  be  made 
of  it  technically,  but  no  matter.  He  would  gradually  discover  just  where 
the  places  were  that  required  technical  smoothing,  and  then  by  playing  them 
over  slowly  these  spots  would  be  technically  strengthened.  By  the  time  the 
composition  was  thoroughly  learned  the  technique  would  be  thoroughly  ac- 
quired, too.  Obtaining  first  a  perfect  mental  picture  of  the  whole,  and  after- 
ward working  out  the  details,  is  better  than  learning  a  work  by  starting  with 
the  details  before  gaining  a  broad  impression  of  the  composition  as  a  whole. 

This  method  of  studying  musical  compositions  is 
especially  important  from  the  standpoint  of  expression. 
In  many  an  instance,  the  source  of  wrong  interpreta- 
tion (or  of  no  interpretation  at  all)  may  be  traced 
directly  to  a  method  of  studying  the  composition  which 
has  not  impressed  the  singers  or  players  with  its  essen- 
tial meaning  and  spirit,  and  with  the  significance  of  the 
various  details  in  relation  to  the  plan  of  the  work  as  a 
whole.  This  is  particularly  true  of  choral  compositions, 
and  in  taking  up  such  works,  it  may  often  be  well  for 
the  conductor  to  read  aloud  the  entire  text  of  the 
chorus  that  is  being  studied  in  order  that  the  attention 
of  the  singers  may  be  focused  for  a  few  moments  upon 
the  imagery  conveyed  by  the  words.  Such  attention 
is  frequently  impossible  while  singing,  because  the 
minds  of  the  singers  are  intent  upon  the  beauty  or 
difficulty  of  the  purely  musical  aspects  of  the  composi- 
tion, and  thus  the  so-called  "expression"  becomes  merely 


160  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

a  blind  and  uninspired  obedience  to  certain  marks  like 
piano,  forte,  and  riiardando — the  real  spirit  of  inter- 
pretation being  entirely  absent. 

DISTRIBUTING  Have  the  distribution  and  care  of 

AND  CARING  TOR  music  SO  systematized  that  there 
THE  MUSIC  .„  I  xu  f     • 

Will  be  neither  confusion  nor  waste 

of  time  in  this  part  of  the  rehearsal.  In  a  professional 
organization  there  will  of  course  be  a  salaried  librarian 
to  see  to  such  work,  but  it  is  entirely  possible  to  secure 
somewhat  the  same  kind  of  results  in  an  amateur  body 
by  having  two  or  three  members  elected  or  appointed 
for  the  task,  these  persons  serving  either  entirely  with- 
out salary  or  being  paid  a  purely  nominal  sum.  These 
librarians  will  then  be  expected  to  take  the  responsibility 
of  marking  new  music,  of  distributing  and  collecting  it 
at  such  times  as  may  be  agreed  upon  by  librarian  and 
conductor,  and  of  caring  for  it  at  concerts  or  at  any  other 
time  when  it  is  to  be  used. 

It  will  be  the  duty  also  of  the  head  librarian  to  keep  a 
record  of  all  music  loaned  or  rented,  and  to  see  that  it  is 
returned  in  good  condition.  It  would  be  well  too  if  he  kept 
a  card  index,  showing  just  what  music  is  owned  by  the  or- 
ganization, the  number  of  copies  of  each  selection,  the 
price,  the  publisher,  the  date  when  purchased,  et  cetera. 
Ask  the  librarians  to  come  five  or  ten  minutes  before  the 
beginning  of  the  rehearsal,  and  make  it  your  business  to 
provide  one  of  them  with  a  slip  having  upon  it  the  names 
or  numbers  of  all  the  selections  to  be  used  at  that  par- 
ticular rehearsal.  Keeping  the  music  in  covers  or  in 
separate  compartments  of  a  cabinet,  one  of  which  will 
hold  all  of  the  copies  of  a  single  selection,  and  having 
these  arranged  alphabetically  or  numerically,  will  con- 
siderably facilitate  matters  for  both  you  and  the  hbra- 
rians.  Do  not  think  it  beneath  your  dignity  to  investi- 
gate the  number  of  copies  of  any  composition  that  you 
are  planning  to  use,  and  when  there  are  not  enough  to 


EFFICIENCY  IN   THE  REHEARSAL  161 

supply  each  singer  in  the  chorus  and  each  desk  in  the 
orchestra  with  a  copy,  to  see  to  it  that  more  music  is 
ordered.  It  is  impossible  to  rehearse  efficiently  if  the 
singers  in  a  chorus  have  to  use  a  part  of  their  energy  in 
trying  to  read  music  from  a  book  or  sheet  held  by  some 
one  else,  or  if  the  players  in  an  orchestra  are  straining 
their  eyes  because  three  or  four  instead  of  two  are 
reading  from  a  single  desk. 

It  mil  be  convenient  for  the  conductor  to  possess  a 
file  containing  a  copy  of  each  number  in  the  library  at 
his  home  or  studio,  each  copy  being  marked  "conduc- 
tor's copy."  In  this  way,  the  director  will  always  be 
assured  of  having  the  same  music,  and  will  feel  that  it 
is  worth  while  to  mark  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it 
more  useful  in  both  rehearsal  and  performance. 

COUNTING  ALOUD,  Do  not  make  the  mistake  of  count- 

TAPPING,  AND  [j^„  or  tapping  on  the  desk  constantly 

SINGING  WITH  ,^.       .r       f  i     v  .11 

nrxjT'  i-TTr^r>TTc  durmg  therehcarsal.   Youmaythmk 

you  are  strengthemng  the  rhythm, 
but  as  a  matter  of  fact,  you  are  actually  weakening  it, 
for  in  this  way  you  take  away  from  the  performers  the 
necessity  of  individual  muscular  response  to  the  pulse, 
and  at  the  performance  (when  you  cannot,  of  course, 
count  or  tap)  the  rhythm  is  very  likely  to  be  flabby  and 
uncertain.  Singing  with  the  chorus  is  another  mistake 
against  which  the  amateur  should  be  warned.  The 
director  not  only  cannot  detect  errors  and  make  intel- 
ligent criticisms  if  he  sings  with  the  chorus,  but  will 
make  the  members  dependent  upon  his  voice  instead  of 
compelling  them  to  form  the  habit  of  watching  him. 
The  only  exception  to  this  principle  is  in  teaching  new 
music  to  a  choir  composed  of  very  poor  readers,  in 
which  case  it  is  sometimes  much  easier  to  teach  a  diffi- 
cult phrase  by  imitation.  Even  here,  however,  it  is 
almost  as  well  to  have  the  organ  give  the  correct  tones. 
In  leading  community  singing,  the  conductor  will  of 


162  ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 

course  sing  with  the  crowd,  for  here  he  is  striving  for 
quite  a  different  sort  of  effect. 

VENTILATION  See  to  it  that  the  practice  room  is  well 
ventilated,  especially  for  a  chorus  re- 
hearsal. Plenty  of  fresh  air  will  not  only  enable  your 
chorus  to  sing  with  better  intonation,  but  will  allow 
them  to  sing  for  a  longer  period  without  fatigue.  (We 
are  tempted  to  add  a  corollary  to  this  proposition: 
namely,  that  sleepy  congregations  are  not  always  due 
to  poor  preaching,  as  is  generally  supposed,  but  are  as 
frequently  the  result  of  a  combination  of  fairly  good 
preaching  and  a  badly  ventilated  auditorium!) 

A  CAPPELLA      In    directing    a    chorus    rehearsal,    have 

Tl.FHFAR.mNC  •  i  •   i  • 

your  smgers  study  without  accompani- 
ment much  of  the  time.  The  organ 
"covers  a  multitude  of  sins"  and  practising  without  it 
will  not  only  enable  you  to  discover  weaknesses  of  all 
sorts  but  will  help  the  singers  themselves  enormously  by 
making  them  more  independent,  improving  the  intona- 
tion, and  compelling  them  to  make  cleaner  and  more 
definite  attacks  and  releases. 

THE  VALUE  OF  A  Finally,  in  concluding  both  this 
SENSE  OF  HUMOR  chapter  and  the  book  as  a  whole,  let 
us  commend  once  more  to  the  con- 
ductor that  he  cultivate  "the  saving  grace  of  humor." 
This  quality  has  already  been  commented  on  somewhat 
at  length  in  an  earlier  chapter  (see  p.  8),  but  it  is 
in  the  rehearsal  period  that  it  is  most  needed,  and  the 
conductor  who  is  fortunate  enough  to  be  able  to  laugh 
a  little  when  annoyances  interrupt  or  disrupt  his  plans 
instead  of  snarUng,  will  not  only  hold  the  members  of 
the  organization  together  for  a  longer  time,  because  of 
their  cordial  personal  attitude  toward  him,  but  will  find 
himself  much  less  fatigued  at  the  end  of  the  rehearsal; 


EFFICIENCY  IN  THE  REHEARSAL  163 

for  nothing  drains  one's  vitality  so  rapidly  as  scolding. 
A  bit  of  humorous  repartee,  then,  especially  in  response 
to  the  complaints  of  some  lazy  or  grouchy  performer;  the 
abihty  to  meet  accidental  mishaps  without  anger;  even 
a  humorous  anecdote  to  relieve  the  strain  of  a  taxing 
rehearsal — all  these  are  to  be  highly  recommended  as 
means  of  oiling  the  machinery  of  the  rehearsal  and 
making  it  run  smoothly.  i 

But  of  course,  even  humor  can  be  overdone.  So  we 
shall  close  by  quoting  the  Greek  motto,  "Nothing  too 
much,"  which  will  be  found  to  apply  equally  well  to 
many  other  activities  recommended  in  the  foregoing 
pages. 


APPENDIX  A 

Reference  List 

I.    General: 

Berlioz,    The  Orchestral  Conductor.      A  short  treatise  full  of  practical 

suggestions.     It  is  found  in  the  back  of  the  author's  well-known 

volume  on  Orchestration. 
Weingartner,  On  Conducting.     A  small   volume  of  about  seventy-five 

pages,  but  containing  excellent  material  for  both  amateur  and 

professional. 
Schroeder,  Handbook  of  Conducting.     A  practical  little  book  from  the 

standpoint  of  both  orchestral  and  operatic  directing. 
Wagner,  On  Conducting.     A  short  treatise  that  every  professional  con- 
ductor will  wish  to  read,  but  not  of  much  value  to  the  amateur. 
Mees,  Choirs  and  Choral  Music.     A  well-written  account  of  the  history 

of  choral  music  from  the  time  of  the  Hebrews  and  Greeks  down  to 

the  present,  containing  also  an  excellent  chapter  on  the  Chorus 

Conductor. 
Grove,  Dictionary  of  Music  and  Musicians  (article.  Conducting) . 
Henderson,  What  Is  Good  Music?  (chapters  XIII  and  XVll). 
Krehbiel,  How  to  Listen  to  Music  (chapter  VIIl). 
II.    Interpretation: 

Coward,  Choral  Technique  and  Interpretation.     One  of  the  few  really 

significant  books  on  conducting.     The  author  gives  in  a  clear  and 

practical  way  the  principles  on  which  his  own  successful  work  as  a 

choral  conductor  was  based. 
Matthay,  Musical  Interpretation.     A  book  for  the  musician  in  general, 

rather  than  for  the  conductor  specifically;  an  excellent  treatise  and 

one  that  all  musicians  should  read. 
III.    The  Orchestra: 

Lavignac,  Music  and  Musicians  (chapter  II). 

Mason,  The  Orchestral  Instruments  and  What  They  Do. 

Corder,  The  Orchestra  and  How  to  Write  for  It. 

Prout,  The  Orchestra  (two  volimies). 

Kling,  Modem  Orchestration  and  Instrumentation. 

Henderson,  The  Orchestra  and  Orchestral  Music;  contains  two  chapters 

(XII  and  XIII)  on  the  Orchestral  Conductor  that  will  be  of  great 

interest  to  the  amateur. 


APPENDIX  A  165 

Mason  (Editor),  The  Art  of  Music  (Vol.  VIII). 

Stoeving,  The  Art  of  Violin  Bowing. 

Forsyth,  Orchestration.  A  particularly  good  book  both  for  professional 
and  amateur,  as  it  gives  many  illustrations  and  treats  the  various 
instruments  from  an  historical  as  well  as  a  practical  standpoint. 

Widor,  The  Modem  Orchestra. 
IV.    The  Church  Choir: 

Curwen,  Studies  in  Worship  Music  (two  volumes). 

Dickinson,  Music  in  the  History  of  the  Western  Church, 

Helmore,  Primer  of  Plainsong. 

Pratt,  Musical  Ministries  in  the  Church. 
V.    The  Boy  Choir: 

Bates,  Voice  Culture  for  Children. 

Brown  and  Behnke,  The  Child  Voice. 

Howard,  The  Child  Voice  in  Singing. 

Johnson,  The  Training  of  Boys'  Voices. 

Richardson,  The  Choir  Trainer's  Art. 

Stubbs,  Practical  Hints  on  Boy  Choir  Training. 

VI.  Voice  Training: 

Ffrang^n-Davies,  The  Singing  of  the  Future. 

Fillebrown,  Resonance  in  Singing  and  Speaking. 

Greene,  Interpretation  in  Song. 

Henderson,  The  Art  of  the  Singer. 

Russell,  English  Diction  for  Singers  and  Speakers. 

Withrow,  Some  Staccato  Notes  for  Singers. 

VII.  Miscellaneous: 

Hamilton,  Outlines  of  Music  History. 
Hamilton,  Sound  and  Its  Relation  to  Music. 


IGG 


ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 


APPENDIX  B 

HAYDN- SYMPHONY  N93 

"Surpris^Symphony 

Score  of  Second  Moyemcnt 


Andnnte 


Planti 
(Flutes) 


Oboi 
(Oboes) 


VaRtJtti 
(Bassoons) 


APPENDIX  B 


167 


N  p 


168 


ESSENTIALS  IN   CONDUCTING 


APPENDIX  B 


169 


170 


ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 


APPENDIX  B 


171 


172 


ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 


APPENDIX  B 


173 


174 


ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 


APPENDIX  B 


175 


176 


ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 


APPENDIX  B 


177 


178 


ESSENTIALS  IN   CONDUCTING 


\Z 


APPENDIX  B 


179 


180 


ESSENTIALS   IN  CONDUCTING 


cmprKdm. 


\p ; 


r^j^rj>   rt^i^ri.,  W^''^    .^^''tm  Jtn   ^y^y  i  j 


INDEX 


A  cappella  singing,  162. 
Accompanist — Relation  to  conductor, 
147. 

Choosing  of,  147. 

Treatment  of,  148. 
Accompanjong,  organ,  150. 
Adolescent  boy,  124,  125. 
Alto,  male,  119. 
Altschuler,  quoted,  61. 
Anglican   chant — Baton   movements 

for,  33. 
Attack — How  to  secure  it,  30. 

In  reading  new  music,  32. 


B 


Back  stroke,  28. 

Baton — Description  of,  20. 

How  used,  21. 

Position  of,  22. 
Baton  movements — ^Diagrams  of,  22. 

Principles  of,  22. 

Length  of  stroke,  32. 
Bauer,  quoted,  159. 
Berhoz,  quoted,  62. 
Boimdaries  of  music,  41. 
Bowing — Directions  for,  103. 

Signs,  103, 104. 
Boy— Problem  of,  126-129. 
Boy  choir — Problem  of,  118. 

Government  of,  126-129. 

Remuneration  of  members,  129. 
Boy  voice — In  church  choir,  118-125. 

Life  of,  123. 

During  adolescence,  124. 
Break — ^Adult  voice,  137. 

ChUd  voice,  122. 
Breathing,  132. 
Breath  Control,  133. 


Canadian  Journal  of  Music,  quoted, 

19. 
Caruso,  quoted,  44. 
Chant,  AngUcan — Baton  movements 

for,  33. 
Cheatham,  quoted,  87. 
Cheerful  attitude— Value  of,  10. 


Child  Voice — ^Peculiarities  of,  118. 

Difference  between  boy  and  girl, 
120. 

Compass  of^  121. 
Children,  directmg,  79. 
Choir,  boy — Problems  of,  118. 

Boy  voice,  118,  119,  120-125. 

Qualifications  of  leaider,  119. 

Remuneration  of  boys,  129. 

Government  of  boys,  126-129. 
Choir,  church — Problems  of  directing, 
108. 

Remedies,  109. 

Difficulties  involved  in.  111. 

Qualifications  of  leader,  112. 

Danger  of  individualism,  112. 

Solo- singing  in,  114. 
Chorus,  high  school — Music  for,  80. 

Direction  of,  82. 

Seating  of,  83. 
Church     music — ^Remedies     needed, 
108. 

Solo  singing,  114. 

Importance  of  congregation  sing- 
ing, 116. 
Clarinet,  99. 
Clearness  of  speech — ^As  element  in 

leadership,  16. 
Community   music — Significance   of, 
85. 

Social  effects  of,  86. 

Qualifications  of  song  leader,  87. 

Song  material,  89. 

Advertising,  90. 

Provision  of  words,  91. 
Compass  of  child  voice,  121. 
Compass  of  orchestral  instruments, 

107. 
Compound  measures,  23,  24,  26,  27. 
Conducting — ^Definition,  1. 

History  of^  2. 

Psychological  basis  of,  3. 

Orchestral,  93. 

Church  choir,  108. 

Boy  choir,  118. 
Conductor — Qualities  of,  8,  110. 

Present  status  of,  2,  3. 

As  organizer,  13. 

As  interpreter,  36. 

Orchestral,  93. 

Relation  to  accompanist,  147-151. 
Ck)ngr{^ational  singing,  1 16. 


181 


182 


ESSENTIALS   TN   CONDUCTING 


Consonants  in  singing,  135. 
Counting  aloud,  161. 
Coward,  quoted,  65. 
Creative  imagination,  11. 
Crescendo,  58. 

D 

Diagrams  of  baton  movements,  22, 23, 

24. 
Dickinson,  quoted,  62,  109. 
Discipline  in  rehearsals,  155. 
Dynamics,  57-63. 

Terms  defined,  59,  60. 

E 

Efficiency  in  the  rehearsal,  152. 
Efficiency  vs.  Idealism,  153. 
Emotion — In  interpretation,  38. 
Enthusiasm  as  an  element  in  leader- 
ship, 16,  17. 
Expression — Meaning  of,  36,  43. 

In  instrumental  music,  46. 

Elements  of,  46. 

How  produced,  72,  75. 


Fermata,  31. 
F^e-beat  measure,  27. 


Gehring,  quoted,  42. 
Girl  voice,  120, 121. 

H 

Harmony,  71. 

Haydn  score,  166. 

Head  voice.  122,  123. 

High  school  chorus — ^Direction  of,  82. 

Seating  of,  83. 

Music  for,  80. 
History  of  conducting,  2. 
Hold,  31. 
Humor — Sense  of,  8. 

Illustrations  of,  9. 

Value  in  reheaimls,  162. 
Hjmnns — Selection  of,  117. 


Idealism  vs.  Efficiency.  153. 
Imagination — ^Valueof,  11. 
Individualism — Danger  of  in  church 
choir,  112. 


Instinctive  imitation,  3. 
Instrumental  music — ^Ebcpression  in, 
46. 

Timbre  in,  66. 

Phrasing  in,  69. 
Instruments — Proportion  of,  97. 

Transposing,  98-100. 

Pitch  standards,  101. 

Tuning  of,  102. 

Bowing,  103. 

Range  of,  107. 
Interpretation  and  expression — ^Defin- 
ition^ 36. 
Interoretation,  36-75. 

Emotion  in,  3S. 

Definition,  40. 

In  vocal  music,  43. 

Importance  of  timbre  in,  66. 


I>eadership —  Sense  of,  13. 

Elements  of,  15,  16,  17. 

Summary,  18. 
Legato,  135. 
Length  of  pro-am,  142. 
life  of  boy  voice,  123. 

M 

Male  alto,  119. 

Melody  accentuation,  61. 

Memory,  muscular  in  tempo,  56. 

Messa  di  voce,  138. 

Metronome,  48. 

Movable  break,  122. 

Music — ^Non-measured,  33. 

Boundaries  of,  41. 

Vocal,  43. 

Instrumental — ^Expression  in,  46. 

School— Field  of,  75. 

Church,  108-117. 
Music — ^Distribution  and  care  of,  160. 
Music — Selection  of,  80. 

For  children,  80. 

High  school  chorus,  81. 

Church  108-117. 
Music  stand,  20. 
Musical  scholarship,  6. 


N 

Non-measured  music,  32. 
Nuances,  tempo,  53. 


INDEX 


183 


O 

Orchestra — ^Directing  of,  93-95. 

Seating  of,  96. 
Orchestral    instruments — ^Proportion 
of,  97. 

Transposing,  98. 

Pitch  standards,  101. 

Tuning,  102. 

Ranges  of,  107. 
Organ  accompaniments,  150. 
Organizing  ability,  13. 


Personality  of  conductor,  8. 
Personality  of  supervisor,  78. 
Phrasing — ^Explanation  of,  66. 

In  vocal  music,  67. 

Mistakes  in,  68. 

In  instrumental  music,  69. 
Pianissimo,  60, 61. 
Pitch — ^Registers,  71. 

Standards,  101. 
Planning  the  rehearsal,  154. 
Poise — as  element  in  l^dership,  16. 
Portamento,  138. 
Principle  of  time  beating,  28. 
Program-making,  140. 

Length  of,  142. 

Arrangement  of  numbers,  144. 

Importance  of  details,  146. 
Prc^am  music,  42. 
Psychological  basis  of  conducting,  3. 
P*ubUc  performance — ^Attitude  of  con- 
ductor at,  82. 
Public  school  music,  76. 

Relation  to  church  choirs,  115. 


Qualities  of  conductor,  8. 

R 

Ranges  of  orchestral  instruments,  107. 

Recitative,  33. 

Registers— Child  voice,  122,  123. 

In  adult  voice,  136. 
Rehearsal — How    to   save    time    in, 
152-163. 

Planning  of,  154. 

DiscipUne  in,  155. 
Rehearsal  letters  or  numbers,  158. 
Relation  between  conductor  and  ac- 
companist, 147-151. 


Relaxation  in  singing,  136. 
Release — ^How  to  secure,  30. 
Resonance,  134. 
Rhythm,  70. 
Rubato,  53. 


Scholarship,  musical — ^Importance  of, 

6. 
School  music — Field  of,  76. 

Supervisor's  personality,  78. 

Direction  of  children,  79. 

Selection  of  music,  80. 

PubUc  performance,  81. 
Schimiann  as  a  conductor,  13. 
Score— Reading,  93,  105. 
Seating — Orchestra,  96. 

High  School  chorus,  83. 
Self-confidence — ^Element   in    leader- 
ship, 15. 
Seven-beat  measure,  27. 
Singing — Solo,  114. 

Congr^ational,  116. 

Use  of  vowel  and  consonants, 
134,  135. 

L^ato,  135. 

Relaxation  in,  136. 

Summary  of  good,  139. 

A  cappeUa,  162. 
Solo  singing,  114. 
Spitta,  quoted,  13. 
Standards  of  pitch,  101. 
Sternberg,  C.  von,  quoted,  37. 
Stroke,  length  of,  32. 
Supervisor  of  music,  76. 


Table    Of  orchestral  instruments,  107. 

Transposing  instruments,  100. 
Technique  of  the  rehearsal,  152. 
Tempo,  46-56. 

Importance  of,  47. 

Finding  correct,  48. 

Rubato,  54,  55. 

Establishing  of,  55. 
Tempo  terms  defined,  49-53. 
Timbre,  64. 

In  instnmiental  music,  66. 

In  vocal  music,  64,  65,  66. 
Time  beating — Principles  and  meth- 
ods of,  22-29. 

Back  stroke,  28,  29. 
Tone — ^How  produced,  134. 
Tone  quality,  64-66. 


184 


ESSENTIALS   IN   CONDUCTING 


Transposing  instruments,  98,  99,  100. 

Tremolo  in  singing,  138. 

Tuning  orchestral  instruments,  102. 

U 

Unity  in  program  making,  142. 


Varasdin,  quoted,  19. 

Variety  in  programj  140. 

Ventilation  of  practice  rooms,  162. 

Vibrato,  138. 

Vocal  cords,  Action  of,  137. 

Vocal  music — Interpretation,  4.'^. 

Timbre,  64. 

Phrasing,  67. 
Vocal  register,  136. 
Voice,  the  boy's — ^In  chiirch  choir, 
118-125. 

life  of,  123. 

During  adolescenf*,  124,  12.5. 


Voice,   the   child's — ^Peculiarities  of, 
118. 
Compass  of,  121. 
Difference  between  voice  of  Ijoy 

and  girl,  120. 
Head  voice,  122, 123. 
Voice  training — In  conducting,  119, 
131. 
Breathing,  132. 
Breath  control,  V3S. 
Resonance,  134. 
L^ato,  135. 
Tone  production,  137. 
Vowel  in  singing,  134. 

W 

W^ner,  quoted,  47. 
Wemgartner,  quoted,  12. 
Whipple,  quoted,  10. 
Whole  method,  158. 
Williams,  C.  F.  A.,  quoted,  75. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY,  LOS  ANGELES 

COLLEGE  LIBRARY 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


University  of  CaMonna.  Los  Angeles 

iiiiiii  ill  111  iiniiir  nil '" 


iliiiik  111  ill  111!  Hill  Hill  mil  II. 
L  005  481  394  4 


COtlEGE 

tie 

MT 

85 
G27e 

1919 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A     001  133  562     7 


